Striking Back
by Vaneria Potter
Summary: If everyone is constantly saying that it is only a matter of time before you turn Evil, how long until you believe them? If you are constantly put down by Bullies, how hard will you eventually strike back?
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, nor any of the associated characters._

_Summary: If everyone is constantly saying that it is only a matter of time before you turn Evil, how long until you believe them? If you are constantly put down by Bullies, how hard will you eventually strike back?_

_A/N: I am doing a re-write, fleshing out the characters and going into more detail. Don't worry, the story isn't abandoned.  
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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Warren Peace had been four when his father was exposed as a Super Villain.

Barron Battle had fooled everyone, up to and including his wife, Warren's mother, but no one was willing to give Firestar, noted as one of the finest Heroes in her generation, the benefit of the doubt.

Citizens gossiped about it, wondering if Firestar had known and kept it a secret for love of her husband - a drama worthy of any celebrities - or if Baron Battle had decieved even his own wife. Fellow Heroes were not even willing to conceed that possibility, but instantly withdrew their support from the grieving Irene Peace, and whispered about how long it would be before Battle's son followed in his father's footsteps.

None of them saw Warren as a four-year-old boy who had just lost his loving father, only as the spawn of a Villain who had managed to stay hidden for years, doomed to become a copy of his father. No one knew, or was willing to admit, who spilt the details to the public media, but it wasn't long until everyone, including Warren's teachers, found out.

When Irene discovered that Warren's teacher were considering 'preventive measures' (such as segregation from his peers and limiting his education) to stop Warren from possibly trying to take over the kindergarten, she barely managed to point out that anyone stupid enough to believe that was obviously not suited for teaching anyway, and withdrew him. Luckily, the Chinese family who owned the resteraunt two doors down were also having problems with discrimination and prejudice, and were happy to split the cost of home-schooling, making it affordable for Warren and their own two children.

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><p>By the time things calmed down (read: the Commander finally stopped bragging about his role in the whole mess to anyone who would listen) three years later, Irene had exactly two friends left in the entire Super-Hero community.<p>

One was the Pied Piper, a sidekick turned Villainess turned lawyer. Her power of being able to communicate with and command horses and rodents, while near-invaluable for spying, had seen her as the object of ridicule, and she finally quit.

Leaving her Hero dangling over a vat of acid was apparently enough to see her classed as a Villainess, but she had no taste for the widespread destruction characteristic of that class, and currently earned her living as a defense lawyer for Villains, and prosecution when someone made a complaint about how their property/physical wellbeing had been damaged in a Super Hero battle.

In short, earning an income while cheerfully enjoying her own brand of petty revenge by making life difficult for the Heroes who had once mistreated her.

The Pied Piper was the one who managed to reduce Baron Battle's sentence from 'Death Row' to four life sentences, with parole after seventy-five years (his third 'life') and visitation rights to his son until then.

The other friend was The Cryptographer, a mostly-minor Hero who worked mainly in espionage, the Pied Piper's husband, and father of their twin children.

They were the ones who, upon Firestar's death when Warren was fifteen (The villain responsible, Extinguisher, didn't survive his encounter with Baron Battle in prison, and the Pied Piper had somehow managed to get his sentence reduced by a further ten years for the action) offered to Foster him, and, failing that, get him emancipated and help him onto his feet.

For a few weeks, Warren was the object of sympathy, until he started Sky High and got on the wrong side of the school's top bitches. Penny Johnson, Cloner and one-person Cheerleading Squad, did not appreciate being told that no, Warren had no intention of being another notch for her, and went running to her best friend Gwen Grayson, Technopath and Teacher's Pet, and both went running to the School Administration, decrying him as a foul-mouthed bully.

Not a week into High School, and, despite being sorted into the Hero class (Sonic Boom was an old friend of Baron Battle, and one of the few who counted old friends as more important than current popularity) Warren was already back to being the School Outcast, Bad-boy, and Villain-in-the-making.

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><p>Things did not improve much over the year, and would only get worse when Will Stronghold started the year after that, the entire school having them pegged as Arch-Enemies before they had so much as spoken to each other. Alright, so Warren didn't have high hopes either, if Will turned out to be even a little like his father, but still!<p>

Not that they would have had reason or inclination to speak to each other in the first place, but it was the principle of the thing.

The Pied Piper and the Cryptographer's twin girls, Roisin and Alara, would be starting the same year as Stronghold, which was a mixed blessing. It was nice to have someone willing to spend time with you, but they wouldn't have anything except lunch together, and three 'half-Villain' children hanging around together would do none of them any favours.

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><p><em>AN: OK, I'm fairly new to writing Sky High fanfiction, so constructive criticism is very welcome. It is also my first attempt at a 'Dark' fic._

_Basically, this is exploring the ramifications of people acting as if Warren was already a Villain, or what often happens to people who suffer excessive bullying during their school years. Look up 'Self-fulfilling prophecies'. _

_For all non-law people, when applying for parole with a Life Sentence, parole can be granted after twenty five years. Since Baron Battle is eligible for parole after his 'third Life', that means seventy-five years._

_Thanks, Nat._


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High. If I did, I would be relaxing in some tropical paradise, rather than looking for work between writing._

_Summary: See Previous Chapters_

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

Alara was nervous.

It was their first day at Sky High, and she was already certain that Power Placement was going to be a disaster.

Sonic Boom was harsh but fair when it came to placing new students, even if most students didn't see it that way, and he looked out for the children of old friends. Unfortunately, while Roisin's ability to manipulate shadows, which people often mistook for telekinesis, had her almost guaranteed a place in the Hero class, no amount of favouritism would justify Alara joining her twin.

Being able to manipulate the water inside things had a lot of potential, but Power Placement happened in the Gym, where there was a depressing lack of water outside drink-bottles, and at the moment, it took several minutes before Alara could manipulate the water in a human body to get anything more than a slight nosebleed.

Warren was a Hero, too, which only made things worse, in a way. There was a precedent for two Heroes working together, but after a number of unfortunate instances, it had become unofficially against policy to pair family members up as Hero and Sidekick, so unless Alara made Hero, she would probably wind up like her mother; tagging along after a Hero with an over-inflated opinion of themselves, who saw Hero Support as someone to make them look good by comparison, and blame when things went wrong.

Alara glanced at her twin, who put down the book she was reading and nudged Alara gently. "Hey, I don't care where either of us end up, and if it goes badly, you can always be Warren's Hero Support."

That was true, especially since most starting Hero Support would beg to be paired with anyone but the son of Baron Battle, not wanting to be tainted by association. Warren was only a year older than the twins, and it wasn't unusual for Sky High graduates to take a year off to settle into their cover jobs before becoming active Heroes.

It also helped to know that as far as Power Placement went, Roisin would only care if someone tried to make Alara's life difficult for being a Sidekick.

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><p>If Alara was nervous, Roisin was annoyed.<p>

Yes, she had the stronger, more impressive-sounding power. Yes, it was expected that the children of Heroes would go to Sky High before joining the 'Family Business'. Yes, she would work to become the best Super she could be.

It was just that she didn't _want _to be.

The twins had only been three when they witnessed how swiftly the Superhero community could turn on their own, but they spent the next three years watching 'Aunt' Irene become pale and drawn, leaving Warren in her parents care as she underwent interrogations and court appearances to determine her (non-existent) level of involvement in Baron Battle's crimes.

They listened to their mother seethe about injustice and fools who didn't care to look twice as she Defended her old friend, insisting that it would have died down a lot sooner if 'Certain People' didn't persist in bringing it up at every public opportunity.

Roisin certainly had no intention of standing by and watching as people were hurt, but she didn't want to make a career out of saving the world and playing nice with Heroes who already judged her for being the daughter of a Villainess.

But, there was nothing she could do about it right now.

She perked up as the bus jolted to a halt at the next stop, the twins having been the first ones on. She nudged Alara again. "Hey, want to see if we can pick families out?"

Alara gave her a flat look that said everything. "Don't be absurd."

Their father had said, more than once, that with the amount of students who have attended and graduated Sky High, the only way to know all of them is to get stuck with detention in the library when the person in charge wants to re-categorize the yearbooks.

Or when someone has a class reunion and you can't come up with a proper excuse in time to get away from whoever wants to reminisce to anyone who will stay still long enough to listen. There was more than one reason that The Cryptographer tried to avoid the Commander whenever possible.

Of course, it was that abundance of graduates that made it so difficult to track down the histories of those who went rogue and became Villains or Henches. Every school has its share of bullies and bullied, but there is a pretty big difference between normal schools and Sky High.

In normal schools these people either go through serious therapy or wind up with drudge-work jobs. At Sky High, if bullies get caught enough times, they get kicked out and either drop off the radar or go Rogue. The Victims (usually sidekicks) often get past it once the bullies are gone, but sometimes go with the 'I'll-prove-I'm-better-than-you-by-becoming-an-arch-enemy-and-destroying-all-you-love' idea and become Villains themselves.

There were days that Roisin saw the merit in the last idea, especially when there was a blatant demonstration of Hero-Sidekick inequality. She often wondered how many Sidekicks had the potential to be Heroes, but never got the opportunity to prove it. How many Heroes would be happier if they were not? How often could supposedly 'useless' powers mean the difference between winning and losing the day, in the right circumstances?

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><p>Warren drove a flying motorcycle to school, largely because the school buses didn't go near the Paper Lantern, where he worked after school, but partially because he got fed up with all the stares and whispers that the other students seldom even bothered to hide when he was on the bus.<p>

It helped that his 'Aunt' Patricia, less than happy about him riding a 'death-trap' had quizzed him until he knew the motor laws of every state backward, forward and sideways, which had led the Transport Authorities to grant him an unrestricted license. The Cryptographer had shared his wife's sentiments, and contributed by making sure that the bike was in perfect working condition, down to the last cog.

Despite that, the twins were not so fortunate in their choice of transportation, and were stuck on the bus. As their friend since childhood, Warren headed for the bus area to meet Roisin and Alara… and possibly scare off anyone who might be interested in Freshman Hazing.

He got there just in time, as Speed and Lash (self-styled names for the stereotypical school jerks – their parents had not been _that _cruel) had corralled the students on the twins' bus and were demanding a fifteen dollar 'Freshman Fee.'

A short, dark-skinned kid with glasses, who looked doomed to spend his entire school life as a favourite nerd-target for the 'Cool Kids', instantly protested, though the lack of confidence made it seem more of a question. "There was nothing about a new student fee in the handbook!"

Gwen Grayson was slowly approaching, but Warren wouldn't count on her to defend a puppy without planning for dramatic effect, let alone a group of Freshmen. He cut Speed and Lash off with a warning fireball. "That's because there _isn't_ one. Beat it, the both of you!"

There was already a hint of Hero-Worship in more than a few eyes, but Warren had no intention of suffering the inevitable disappointment when they found out who he was and couldn't get away fast enough. A boy who looked too much like Jetstream and the Commander to be anything but their son practically guaranteed that he would soon be School Enemy #1.

A general glare had most of them scurrying back, but Roisin and Alara smiling and giving him a return look that said they would meet later.

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><p>Gwen Grayson, Student Body President and Queen Bee, gave a quick welcoming speech, and then took the Freshmen to the Gym, where they were treated to another speech from Principal Powers.<p>

Formerly Comet Girl, the Principal was strict but fair, and actually quite nice in informal settings. She had been in the same class as The Cryptographer, and they had remained on good terms. Of course, it might have had something to do with the fact that having the Cryptographer on speed-dial saved Sky High a small fortune whenever a student's powers managed to fry the computer lab, but maybe that was just pessimism talking.

The twins were a bit nervous about what Power Placement would entail, but had avoided the state of full-blown panic that a few others were in. Their powers had shown up early, and the fact that they were mentally-based/slow-acting had prompted their parents to expand the back-yard into a mini-obstacle-course. Super-Strength was only a problem if your opponent (or the large heavy objects they were throwing) could actually hit you, and agility was always a good talent to have, especially when dodging.

Principal Powers finished her speech and _whoosh-_ed away in a ball of white light, replaced by the less-dazzling sight of Coach Boomer a.k.a. Sonic Boom. Coach Boomer was the stereotypical Gym Teacher; loud, abrasive and to-the-point. "Alright, listen up! My name is Coach Boomer. You may know me as Sonic Boom; you may not. Here is how Power Placement will work: You will step up here and show me your power, and yes, you will do so in front of the entire class."

There were more than a few nervous looks among the Freshmen. Power Placement, which determined if you were sorted as Hero or Sidekick, was important enough to give anyone stage-fright. The fear of being laughed at if you had a weird or small power was even worse.

The red-head next to the Commander's son was clearly annoyed at the demonstration methods as a scrawny redhead was pulled up. "What is humiliating him in front of everyone going to prove? This is so unfair."

A good point, but the newest Stronghold made a better one. A Philosopher in the making, that guy. "If life were to suddenly get fair, I doubt it would happen in High School."

But, you couldn't judge a student's power by their looks. The nerdy-looking shrimp turned into some kind of 'boulder-man', while a girl with a tough-chick attitude shape-shifted into a guinea-pig. Roisin nearly squealed over the cute little thing, but had a bad feeling that the guinea-pig-girl would try to bite her.

There was also a Mimic, who scored points by turning into the Coach, a guy with acid-spit who switched from 'Sidekick' to 'Hero' when he melted a hole in one of the pillars, and a girl whose admittedly impressive acrobatics culminated in turning into a large ball.

A tall kid with white-blond hair, Zach, got 'Sonic-Boomed' off the platform after making a big deal about his 'awesome' power and then (supposedly) glowing. Apparently it only worked in the dark, because none of the students, much less Coach Boomer, saw anything. Ethan, from earlier, turned into a puddle of goo, and the red-haired girl "didn't believe in using her powers unless the situation called for it."

Three guesses where she ended up. First two don't count.

About half-way through, there was a break for lunch. Passing Zach complaining loudly to his friends about being stuck as 'Hero Support', the twins avoided that group, getting into line as a slightly irate voice came over the intercom, requesting that Sidekicks stop ordering Hero sandwiches.

Since neither of the two had been sorted yet, they grabbed Hero sandwiches anyway, frowning at the obvious segregation. Roisin sighed as they saw Warren and headed over. "You know, I thought we got past that stuff with the Civil Rights Movement."

Alara shrugged as they sat down. "I suppose it doesn't really matter. Hero, Sidekick or normal human student, High School Cafeteria Food is uniformly horrible. I don't need to be a pre-cog to see a lot of packed lunches in our future."

Warren looked up from aiming a particularly lethal stare at the Stronghold kid's table, trying to see how long it took to make him squirm. He always tended to be a bit on edge after visiting his father. "I'll see if I can bring leftovers from the restaurant tomorrow. Have you been Placed yet?"

Roisin shook her head. "Not yet, though there's been an interesting variety of powers so far. We should try to be nice to Evanna, though."

Warren finally looked away from glaring at the other table, most of whom looked seconds away from whimpering. "Who's Evanna?"

Alara took a sip of her bottled water. "A very acrobatic girl who can turn into a large rubber ball. It would be amazingly useful for espionage in public settings, but I doubt anyone in Hero Support will suggest that level of pro-active."

Warren and Roisin exchanged a glance, forced to agree with the assessment.

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><p>"<em><strong>A reminder: There is no smoking on the School Grounds. Or freezing. Or bursting into flames. Would whoever froze the students on the lawn please report to the front office."<strong>_

Well, the PA system announcer was funny, at least. Sadly, lunch never lasts as long as you'd like it to, and it seemed only moments before they were back in the Gym. It was certainly a large shock when Will Stronghold, son of the world's two greatest Heroes, didn't have a power, but Alara was too busy worrying about her own fate to do more than feel a bit sympathetic to his plight.

Will was carted off to the med-bay, and Power Placement continued. Two Heroes and three more sidekicks later, it was the twins' turn. Roisin was called up first, and started by smashing the two nearest lights, giving her a bit more to work with. Coach Boomer didn't look too impressed with that, but changed his mind when he tried to drop a car on her; only to have it halted a full meter above her head. Tossing it around the Gym, while levitating herself, counted as just showing off, but it made the point.

One Twin for the Hero Class.

Alara's turn fared only slightly better than Magenta, the girl who shape-shifted. A few scattered water-bottles rattled and fell over, but all she managed to do otherwise was make Coach Boomer twitch for a few moments.

One Twin for the Sidekick Class.

After that, they were split up into two groups. Heroes followed a 'Brainiac' with a literally swelled head, while Sidekicks were stuck with the dubious pleasure of Coach Boomer's continued presence as we were dragged off on a tour of campus and a brief overview of what we would be learning.

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><p><em>AN: So, this is a re-write of Striking Back, since a few people pointed out that I was skimming too much and the chapters were too short. I'll do my best not to turn the twins into Mary-Sues, but feel free to point out if you think I'm at risk._


	3. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: Because insists, I hereby state that I do not own Sky High._

_Summary: See previous chapters._

_A/N: People in my other stories have criticised me for nagging about Reviews, so I figure you deserve an explanation. I associate 'review' with 'job well done', so seeing a review in my inbox tells me that I'm doing well. Lack of reviews is discouraging, and I'm mildly ashamed to admit that the belief that my work is not worth reading has been part of the reason for several ongoing stories not being updated in years._

_But, on with the chapter._

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><p><strong>Chapter Two<strong>

A lot of what the Heroes would be learning sounded very much like normal high-school, only a bit more extreme.

Science was actually 'Mad Science', dealing with shrink-rays, toxins, radioactivity and crystals that made you weak or unconscious.

Gym Class would be oriented around learning physical combat and saving civilians, with an actual competition called 'Save the Citizen', which was fought in pairs, with one pair being the villains, one pair being the heroes, and a dummy in the shape of a citizen suspended over a pit of razor-sharp rotating blades.

Roisin couldn't wait to get in there and prove to all of them that being a Hero was more than flashy powers and who your parents were. Her power was a bit flashy and she was proud of her heritage, but that didn't define her. Alara might not have much control over her powers, but years of playing in the backyard had made her a very formidable opponent, even so. Being the Sidekick daughter of a former Villainess didn't mean that Alara wasn't every bit as good as the rest of them.

History went more along the lines of 'Heroes throughout History', specifically their rises, downfalls, more notable feats, and the villains that they faced. Their mid-term project would be an in-depth analysis of a past hero and what could be learned from them.

There was even a sub-topic in English that dealt with witty lines and comebacks when arguing with or taunting Villains, with extra credit for actual originality, rather than "Good will always defeat Evil!", a number of pop-quizzes on appropriate and inappropriate times and places for monologuing, and so on.

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><p>Meeting up with Sally while waiting for the School Bus, the twins compared notes. It seemed that there had been a small mishap with the Sidekick Teacher, so Coach Boomer spent the rest of the day showing them around and telling them what NOT to do. The Rule Talk had been blunt, but far more informative than Gwen Greyson's 'Don't fall off the side of the school' talk.<p>

No starting fights, no mouthing off to teachers, no whining about being stuck as a Sidekick when they wanted to be a Hero, if we catch _anyone_ in the act of bullying, there will be TROUBLE, etc.

The discussion continued all the way through the Bus Ride, down two blocks, and through the front door, where the sound of their voices drew their mother out of her phone conversation with her newest client to remind them that schoolbags did not get dumped on the kitchen table.

In the process of doing just that, the twins froze, and then dumped their bags in their room as their mother emerged from her study to ask about their first day at Sky High. Potential friends, potential arch-rivals, who needed to be coerced, tricked or blackmailed into not attempting to bully them…

All the normal things that a good Super-villain mother should know about her children's school and social lives.

Knowing that in this case, Resistance really was futile, no matter how much parents needed to stop fussing over their children now that they were in High School, Roisin and Sally exchanged looks and started talking.

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><p>Patricia Rose laughed, stirring a pot of hot chocolate as the twins looked over their school-books, not having any actual homework yet. The Paper Lantern was an all-hours resterant, and Warren had the after schoolearly dinner shift, which meant that he would be joining them for take-out afterward. The Wu family, who owned and operated the Paper Lantern, were old friends, and paid Warren a little extra to deliver whatever the Cryptographer ordered as take-away. "I met Gwen Grayson the last time someone blew up the computer lab and your father forgot his lunch. Take it from an ex-villain: _No-one_ is that obnoxiously sweet-natured unless they have some kind of plot up their sleeve."

Her amusement changed to a frown, "Besides, I can't help but think that she reminds me of an old classmate, except few of my classmates have kids, and of those few, Firestar is the only one who would have had a child old enough for Sky High."

Said child walked through the door at that moment, putting the bags on the kitchen counter and submitting to a hug and kiss from his 'Aunt'. "What about Mom?"

Patricia laughed again. "I was just telling the girls about how much Gwen reminds me of an old classmate, but your mother was the only Sidekick classmate I can think of who would have had Sky High-aged kids."

That sparked a memory as Roisin started opening containers, hearing her father's car pull into the driveway. "That reminds me, if Technopathy wasn't widely known back when you were at school, how did Dad get into the Hero class?"

The Cryptographer entered just in time to hear the question. "I cracked the codes on the remote used to drop the car on people, and made it not work. After very obviously staring up at a car that wouldn't drop, I fixed the remote with a very flashy touch. Since no-one could work out how I did either, they put me in Hero class."

Warren's smile was bittersweet as he pulled out plates. "I guess appearances really do count for more than facts, sometimes."

Patricia shut the cutlery-draw, frowning. "Are the other students giving you problems again, dear?"

Warren shrugged, glancing at a suddenly fierce-looking Roisin. "No more than usual. It was just the way that the Freshmen heard my name and instantly looked at me like I was going to go crazy and kill them all."

The Cryptographer scowled, but said nothing. Like Roisin, he preferred to think things through before speaking, while Alara took after the Pied Piper in her slow-fuse and acid-tongued fury. He and his wife had worried about the same thing in regard to the twins, but the three teens were in the same school now, and they would protect each other.

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><p>As with all 'Second First Days', the sidekicks started homeroom by sitting around and talking while waiting for the teacher, quickly straightening up when the door opened and an unremarkable man with blue eyes and greying hair walked in. "Good morning, class. Welcome to Hero Support."<p>

He placed a stack of papers on the desk and walked toward a folding screen next to the blackboard. "My name is…" he ducked behind the screen and jumped back out again. "… All-American Boy!"

Alara blinked, suitably impressed. After seeing Sonic Boom as their Gym Teacher, and given that Principal Powers used to be Comet Girl, she and Roisin had theorized about their teachers being ex-heroes or ex-sidekicks, but _The Commander's _Sidekick? It was beyond anything they had come up with!

All-American Boy slowly climbed down off of the desk, taking off his mask. "Of course, nowadays I mostly go by 'Mr. Boy'. This year, it's going to be my pleasure to help each of you to become the very best Hero Support you can be. Why, without Hero Support, there wouldn't be any Heroes!"

That was true enough. The Media might say different, but old classmates talked to each other, and reminiscing about how many times a sidekick had pulled a hero's fat out of the fire was a very popular topic when Patricia and her friends got together for coffee. Those stories also contained some very pointed lessons on why you should be nice to your sidekick, because villains usually paid less attention to sidekicks and less effort in restraining them, but as Patricia had so clearly demonstrated, your Hero Support was perfectly capable of leaving you to get out of your own mess, if they were angry at you and so chose.

Mr. Boy continued, looking slightly rueful. "Alright, there probably would be heroes, but they would be very lonely. Very lonely heroes indeed. And… yes?"

The 'glowing' blonde boy had put his hand up. "Yeah, uh, when do we pick our costumes and code names?"

Alara couldn't help but feel relieved when Mr. Boy announced that their assigned Hero would be the one choosing their Code Name and Costume. The twins' father had mentioned that Heroes usually got to choose their own Sidekick, and she knew that Warren or Roisin would listen to her input.

With any luck, whichever Hero picked Zach would have enough sense to ignore the proposed 'Zach-Attack'. After all, a Code Name wasn't exactly a Code Name if it blatantly held half of your real name as well.

Then again, their mother had often complained about the number of times that the Sidekicks were the brains (or at least the Common Sense) of the operation, and how most Heroes had NO imagination, so maybe not. Ah, well; not her problem and Zach would just have to hope for the best.

Alara doubted that there was any malice in Will Stronghold's comment that he didn't know that Mr. Boy had worked for The Commander, but she also doubted that there was a single student who didn't squirm, cringe or look uncomfortable at Mr. Boy's crestfallen expression when he found out that the Commander's own son had never even heard of his existence. It was one thing to lose touch when one partner went inactive. It was another to act as if they had never existed.

It was a glaring contrast to Mach-Girl, Hero Support to the Cryptographer, who had been named the twins' godmother and who, along with her husband, alternated with the Pied Piper in hosting Friday Card Nights.

Thankfully, that line of conversation was cut off when the lights went out and there was the sound of an explosion nearby. Mr. Boy threw himself to the side with a shout of "INCOMING!", and the students instantly ducked beneath their desks. The ensuring silence was broken when a soft green light began to shine from near the back of the class, and Magenta, the girl who turned into a Guinea Pig, smirked. "Oh, look, he does glow."

Zach grinned back at them. "Told you."

The teacher who had shown the Hero Class around the day before, Mr Medulla, entered as the lights came back on. "Sorry, a little misfire in the Mad Science Lab. No need to panic, unless you are a single-cell organism."

Precisely how Mr. Boy managed to cling to a metal fixture on the ceiling, look annoyed _and_ speak calmly at the same time was an impressive mystery. "Mr. Medulla, we in Hero Support are trained never to panic."

His statement was unfortunately ruined when the fixture broke, sending him crashing to the floor, amid general laughter. Mr. Boy stood up again, pulling the waste-paper basket off of his head. "My Bad."

Mr. Medulla looked gently amused at the scene, hinting that not all Heroes were jerks to Forgotten Sidekicks. "I'll get the nurse. Unless she's also injured."

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><p>In the meantime, Mr. Boy wasn't the only one trying to prise a waste bin off of his head. Roisin had never responded well to Power-snobs, or to people who insulted those she cared about. Larry, the shrimp who turned into a stone giant, had said that having a sidekick mother who couldn't even cut it as a Villainess would mean at least one loser offspring, even if their father was a hero. Roisin had given his scrawny frame a pointed look, and commented that if it weren't for his powers, Larry would know plenty about being a loser.<p>

Larry had powered up, and barely missed creating a head-sized hole in the ceiling. Roisin had raised an unimpressed eyebrow, and used her own powers to slam the waste bin on his head as soon as he changed back. It would have started a fight, if someone hadn't whisper-yelled a warning about the teacher's impending arrival, causing everyone to make a dash for their seats.

The Hero homeroom teacher was the Memory Keeper, mostly known as Mrs. Ward. She was a telepath with steely grey eyes and a no-nonsense attitude, who started things off with a speech. "Welcome to Sky High. This Year, I will be privileged to guide you on the path to becoming Heroes in your own right. Having Powers makes you different. It makes you unique."

Alec, the boy with Acid Spit, raised his hand. "Yeah, we already know that we're the best, Miss, but what will we be learning? Please tell me that it won't be alongside the loser sidekicks."

Mrs. Ward stopped the enthusiastic cheers with a single icy look, thankfully not noticing how the shadows had flickered. "You may be stronger than some of your classmates, young man, but you aren't Heroes _yet_, and Hero Support is an essential part of being a Hero. Their powers may be different to yours, but that does not make them inferior. Quite the opposite, in fact, because working as a team makes you stronger. Failure to treat your Hero Support with the respect that they deserve, failure to work together, can make things turn out very badly."

At the last statement, Roisin couldn't stop herself from smirking in remembrance. Unfortunately, Mrs. Ward caught her. "Is something funny, Miss Rose?"

Roisin winced as the entire class turned to look at her. She hated the spotlight. "No, ma'am. It's just that my mother is the Pied Piper. She taught us that lesson early on, and a lot of her friends told us stories of when they were the ones who saved the day."

The Pied Piper's last mission was a quietly infamous tale that everyone had heard about, and some Heroes had been smart enough to take seriously. Mrs. Ward was apparently one of them. "Ah, yes. Quite the object lesson, that was. As I was saying, our powers make us special, but part of having a power is knowing how to use it properly. If I find out that _any_ of you misusing your powers, _especially_ against other students, I will not hesitate to hit you with detention for the rest of the year. Charity and respect start at home, or in this case at school, so I expect you to treat your fellow students with the respect that they deserve, just as I expect them to treat you the same way."

Roisin decided that she liked this teacher very much indeed.

Mrs. Ward was about to continue when there was an explosion and the lights went out. Roisin wondered if it would necessitate her father being called in. Probably not, as the lights quickly came back on, and Mr. Medulla poked his head in. "A minor accident in the Mad Science Lab. Does anyone in here need the nurse?"

This was certainly an interesting start to the day.

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><p>Though Alara was in the same class as Will Stronghold, she had managed to more-or-less avoid him and the various others that followed him around like a lost puppy. Evanna was nice, and the two Sidekick girls quietly got along, as did Roisin, but that was about it. Isolation from pretty much the entire student body and frequent bullying from the upper years (at least when Warren or Roisin weren't around) also contributed to a not-very-nice start to the year.<p>

This was partly due to both she and Roisin being quiet bookworms and thus more involved with books that the current social climate, partly because of their already-established friendship with Warren Peace, and partly because of the Pied Piper's general unpopularity with various superhero families.

Having turned evil because her assigned hero was a 'misogynistic scumbag', who seemed to think that everything that went wrong was his sidekick's fault, even when it quite clearly wasn't (such as a villain escaping when Silverblade had ignored his sidekick's repeated warnings that they were going the wrong way), the Pied Piper had been making life difficult for Heroes ever since she went inactive.

Granted, it was hard to dispute that several of the major heroes needed to have their egos deflated every once in a while, and the damage that some of them casually caused during their missions could be frankly devastating, especially with the Supers that went for brute force.

Trying to tell that to the Superhero Council, however, was generally an exercise in futility, so people went to the Pied Piper, instead.

Either way, the problem with being anything beyond a first-generation hero(ine) attending Sky High was that you were automatically judged by your parents. The Cryptographer was a relative unknown, and the Pied Piper was notorious. As such, Roisin and/or Alara were seldom the ones that came out best in disputes.

Of course, it didn't help that several upper-classmen had begun to travel in packs in order to outnumber the twins, and even Roisin couldn't take all of them at once before they tried to shove the twins into their lockers.

There were times that Warren and the twins wondered if Heroes would be nearly so popular, if people knew what they were like before they Graduated and had access to the Super Council PR Agents.

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><p><em>AN: Right, that's chapter two, and we're moving further in. _

_I hope you all enjoy the chapter, and constructive criticism is appreciated._

_Thanks,_

_Nat_


	4. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, or any of the associated characters_

_Summary: See previous chapters_

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><p><strong>CHAPTER THREE<strong>

Visits with his father always left Warren conflicted. On one hand, Barron Battle was a Super Villain, and people were not supposed to feel anything except contempt or hatred for Super Villains. On the other hand, Barron Battle had once been a Super Hero, and was also a man who loved his wife and young son.

The people who had been killed or injured in the incident that exposed Barron Battle had been part of an 'Anti-Super' movement growing at the time, who hadn't grasped that a pacifistic, make-love-not-war attitude wasn't always successful, and who wanted a closer eye kept on people with superpowers. The problem was, their idea of 'A Closer Eye' had involved electronic tagging, CIA-level surveillance, and the details of families, cover-jobs and secret identities becoming available for public knowledge.

Since there was no way for Superheroes to deal with that, Super Villains were all for it, since it would make their job infinitely easier, and most of the other people in the Senate didn't care, Barron Battle had risked everything to become a Villain to take care of it. Sometimes, good people had to do bad things, like hunting down and neutralizing terrorists, to keep others safe. Sometimes, a friend must become an enemy in order to remain a friend.

Like the Klan Killer, who had saved countless lives when the KKK were spending their Saturday nights Lynching people, and had foiled two assassination attempts on Martin Luthor King, Jr, and King Kamayamayhem, who had diverted a Tsunami that would have wiped out a town (along with his then-current evil plot), however, the Superheroes had conveniently forgotten those little details when they put him on trial.

In fact, that information hadn't come out until recently, thanks to the Pied Piper, a Villainess who was the reason Warren still had one living parent and was allowed to actually visit and talk to him. After a year-long legal battle (and much whimpering from the five successive lawyers forced to be on the bench opposite the Pied Piper) Barron Battle was down to three Life-Sentences, rather than four.

That had been last night, after school and before Warren had to get to work. It had also been the anniversary of Firestar's death, so her husband and son had spent the visit exchanging stories about her.

It would have been emotionally draining even if it hadn't been the first day of classes, and if Warren hadn't been stuck attempting to fend off yet another girl who had convinced herself that she could 'redeem' him with her love. If he didn't feel that it would be far below his dignity, Warren would have given serious consideration to asking one of the twins to pose as his girlfriend, just to make the crushing airheads leave him alone!

He hoped that Alara and Roisin were having a better time of it than he was.

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><p>There was one perk to being in the Hero Class; namely that they covered a wider range of topics than the Hero Support. One of the more interesting classes was unarmed combat in PE, where they alternated between mixed pairings, and same gender pairings, sometimes splitting entirely into two groups.<p>

For these classes, they had a substitute Gym Teacher, Assistant Coach Drill, who had once been Sonic Boom's sidekick. Whether the name 'Drill' was from her Cyborg abilities or from her uncanny impersonation of a Marine Drill Sergeant was a topic of much debate.

Today was one of the 'Two Group' lessons, and while she didn't know what the boys were doing, being requested to bring in a pair of high-heels gave a good idea of what the girls would be getting up to. Roisin was right, as Assistant Coach Drill paced in front of them. "Listen up! Flat shoes are fine for Gym class at Sky High, but your Superhero costumes will almost certainly have heels, and there will be fights where you won't have time to run home and change! So, you will be learning how to fight in heels, and no, I don't care how many times you fall over. Go suit up!"

The female heroes-to-be exchanged glances as they all pulled out their changes of shoes. Many of them had brought in stiletto heels, or ones with sandal straps, but others (most of whom had a female super-parent) had brought in more solid footwear.

Mrs Rose remembered this particular class from her own Sky High days, although Sidekicks didn't start learning how to fight or move in heels until Sophomore Year, and had taken both twins on a three-hour trip through the local shoe stores. After visiting more shoe-stores than she had known existed in Maxville, Roisin had finally walked away with a pair of charcoal suede knee-high boots with a solid two-inch heel. "Do you think they'll want us to start fighting right away?"

Isolde, a girl capable of flight who had formed a tentative friendship with the older twin laced up her own ankle boots, making a contemptuous noise. "Given that most of us only just started _walking_ in these? Nah, Mum said that we'll probably start off with learning how to run or navigate a balance beam in them first. I doubt we'll start fighting in them until we get through basic combat in normal shoes."

Another Heroine stood up, slightly shaky on her pointed heels. "Well, let's get this over with. Do you think we'll be judged on aesthetics, or functionability?"

Roisin steadied her, exchanging exasperated looks with Isolde. Honestly, the Hero/Sidekick segregation was bad enough that you didn't need more labelling, but there were times when she fantasized about adding a 'Moronic Minion' category. They were learning to fight in heels, so aside from perhaps colour co-ordination, why would anyone care what the shoes looked like?

Isolde turned out to be right, and they did start off with just running laps. Isolde won the first race, closely followed by Roisin and a 'super-speed' girl. This was largely because Isolde had joined the twins in spending most of the previous weekend running around the block in said heels, and accelerated speed was not a good thing if you couldn't keep your balance, so their 'super-speed' classmate, Alicia, had lost her advantage.

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><p>Alara had known that her father was in a great minority among superheroes, as far as the Hero-Hero Support dichotomy was concerned, but now she was really starting to appreciate just how different the Cryptographer was. When her father had attended Sky High, Heroes and Sidekicks were paired up after mid-year exams in Junior Year, so that they could switch partners if the pair proved totally incapable of working together. Silverblade and the Pied Piper had been the exception, for the sole reason that everyone else was happy with their pairings and had no desire to switch, no matter how much that pair didn't work out.<p>

Mech-Girl had the power to stall any engine she wanted (excellent if you overslept and were about to miss the bus, or for stopping a villain's getaway car), but the Cryptographer had made sure that his Hero Support knew more than a basic utility belt and how to hand him a weapon.

Sadly, this was about all that the Freshman Sidekicks seemed to be learning so far.

To be fair, it was only a week or so into the year, and those with less than impressive powers would probably need a utility belt, and unless you could fly, grappling hooks would be very useful. Still, when a question on an 'English for Hero Support' test was: _'Holy _, _man!'_ (which depended on the context, ranging from 'rusted metal' to 'heartbreak') it tended to create the sense that you were not being taken very seriously.

Besides, Alara and Roisin had compared syllabi, and it seemed that the only thing that they had in common was Mad Science, and how to change outfits by ducking behind something for a few seconds.

It could be funny, from a spectator's point of view, especially when Zach ran through the 'Costume Change', and emerged in nothing but his boxers. Or when Ethan was trying to open one of his utility compartments, and accidentally released an inflatable life-raft from a compartment on the other side of the belt, which then blew up over the top of Mr Boy's desk, knocking the lamp off.

From the way Mr Boy's only reaction was to calmly raise his coffee cup out of the way, Alara would lay money that it wasn't the first time that a mistake such as that had happened.

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><p>Roisin tapped the end of her pencil against her lips as she considered the paper before her. It was her mid-term History Report, which she was starting as early as possible; a paper on whether the semi-divine Heroes of ancient stories were demi-gods, or just humans with powers, and then an in-class debate. Roisin favoured the Humans With Powers idea, but had to come up with written reasoning and a valid argument for that belief.<p>

Alara's History report was to write an essay on the sidekick of an Ancient Greek or Roman Hero, and why they had been matched with that hero. The sidekicks had come up with a list of heroes, and then picked out of a hat. Alara had picked Iolaus, the first sidekick of Heracles. "But why can't I just say: 'Because Iolaus was a boy with dreams of grandeur, who apparently missed the fact the Heracles had just slaughtered his three cousins, and was the only person who would go near him'?"

At the other end of the table, Patricia didn't look up from making notes on an upcoming case involving someone trying to hack into the restricted portions of the Superhero databases. "Because your report needs to be more than thirty-four words long, dear, and your teachers will probably want a bit more elaboration on that theory. Roisin, how is your report going?"

Roisin scowled at her paper just as the Cryptographer entered. "I have my arguments and everything; I just can't seem to put it into words. Hi Dad, how was work?"

Greg smiled at the twins and kissed Patricia on the cheek. "Work was fine, same as usual. If you're stuck for phrasing, try writing down your thoughts, and sorting them into an actual report later. So, why do you think that the heroes in question were not descended from the gods?"

Roisin's pencil flew across her notebook as she replied. "A woman practicing adultery was a crime on par with murder back then; and still is in several countries. If the timing of the child's conception takes place before marriage, or when your husband was elsewhere or not participating in marital relations, then you had better have a very good reason to explain your pregnancy."

Alara snickered. "I should say so. But as divine beings, wouldn't the gods be held to higher standards than bedding anyone who took their fancy?"

Now it was Roisin's turn to smirk." The Greco-Roman gods were not known for their fidelity, and supposedly sired a multitude of children. Other Paleothons would sometimes bless a mortal woman, especially if her husband was infertile, by lying with them and giving them a child, like in the Hindu epic 'Mahabharata', where the king would die if he had sexual relations, so Queen Kunti recited a mantra that would cause a god to impregnate her, in order to give her husband children. Saying that your child was fathered by a god was far less likely to result in your death or other unpleasant consequences."

Alara frowned, looking up from her report. "But weren't Perseus and his mother placed in a box and dumped in the ocean after he was born? That's pretty close to a death sentence, if you ask me."

Greg replied to that from the kitchen, where he was starting dinner, since Roisin was busy writing. "Yes, but that was because of a prophesy that Perseus would be the cause of his Grandfather's death, which was why Princess Danae was locked in a tower in the first place."

Roisin continued her theories out loud. "Another reason is the nature of their 'Powers'. Super powers are largely heredity, unless you are a first-generation, but most 'demi-god' superheroes have powers or perform deeds with little to no relation to their claimed divine parent, which implies being a first-generation power, rather than divine parentage. Some other heroes claimed to be Avatars of a god or goddess, to explain their gifts, and would therefore have the same strengths, which raises all sorts of questions about which feats or deeds were performed by gods – the creation of the universe and/or human race, for example – and which were performed by powered heroes and mistaken for gods."

Alara was tapping her pencil against the table top. "I suppose I can't site nepotism for Iolaus and Heracles, either. Do you think that I could mention the popular regard of Iolaus as Heracles's lover, and see how the Hero-inclined students react?"

Patricia laughed. "You had better not. You will probably get several seconds of shock, but it could also lead to hitting on the potential sidekicks, with the reasoning of 'romantic ties' between partners. As most people want to be asked out with better reasoning than 'because we work together', I doubt that it will be appreciated."

Alara certainly wouldn't appreciate such a proposal, and Roisin's expression strongly implied that anyone who tried to use such reasoning would not like the consequences. Exchanging smirks that bore an eerie resemblance to their mother on the verge of winning a legal battle with lasting unpleasant consequences, the twins returned to their homework.

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><p><em>AN: It might be just me, but can anyone name a costumed heroine over the age of thirteen who DOESN'T wear heels, even when fighting crime? _

_Just to clarify, walking in heels isn't much different from walking in flat shoes, but running or fighting is. I know that everyone in 'Save the Citizen' wore pretty much the same basic gym uniform, but gym clothes are typically light material and loose design. Fighting in tight bodysuits, different material or design, or body armour would require a significant adjustment to your balance, changing the amount of force you put behind your movements, and in the case of armour, even restricted manoeuvrability. Shoulder pads, for example, would make several arm movements difficult or force you to move your entire body to pull off. Likewise, there are a number of costumed females who wear skirts or cloaks, which are very easy to get tangled up in if you don't know what you're doing._

_As you can't expect Sky High graduates to instantly go from fighting in a Gym Uniform to fighting in a Personalized Costume, I am introducing sub-classes. Think of it as the difference between playing field hockey and ice hockey. One you play on a normal field, in normal sports clothes. The other you play on ice-skates, with significantly more protective gear._

_Thanks,_

_Nat_


	5. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Really, do we have to go over this again? I do not own Sky High_

_Summary: See previous chapters_

_A/N: Edited a bit, because 'find and replace' can be annoying and fallable.  
><em>

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><p><strong>CHAPTER FOUR<strong>

Evanna had been dreading Sky High ever since she got her powers, knowing that their far-from-offensive nature was going to see her as a bullied sidekick within a day. She had inherited her power from her father, who could turn himself into a sixteen-pound bowling ball. It might not be too impressive, but at least he never faced four years of being kicked down hallways.

Evanna doubted that she would be so lucky. Even the other sidekicks would most likely leave her to it, since if the bullies were targeting _her,_ at least they weren't targeting _them._

That was why she had been so surprised when she not only made a friend in Sidekick class, who didn't put up with anyone targeting either of them, but also two Hero students. Warren was a bit scary, with his 'leave-me-alone' attitude and who his father was, but it was obvious that he would stick up for his friends. Roisin gave the impression of a nice person… who would make it look like an accident if you tried to hurt the people she cared about.

Sidekick class might not be nearly as interesting as Hero class, but it wasn't entirely bad. The first person who tried to kick her down the hall found his ankle grabbed mid-kick, and a yank from Alara flipped him to land on his head.

The trio who tried to slam the two of them into lockers found their positions reversed as their shadows moved to throw them into the lockers and slam the doors simultaneously, seemingly of their own accord – until Evanna looked around and spotted an un-amused Roisin.

When someone 'accidentally' drenched her homework, they were chased off by a fireball before Warren picked it up for her, radiating just enough heat to steam the paper dry.

Evanna decided that no matter where life took them, she would be loyal to the trio, her first true friends, for life.

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><p>Warren was in a bad mood thanks to some over-enthusiastic reporters who had managed to track him to the Paper Lantern and nearly exposed him as a super before Mrs Wu chased them off. For such a mild-looking woman, she could be fierce when her employees were harassed, and had developed a soft-spot for Warren after his mother died.<p>

Unfortunately, by that point, the reporters had already started firing questions about if Barron Battle ever exercised his visitation rights, and if Warren suspected that his father had anything to do with his mother's death, and was he surprised when the Commander put Barron Battle away, given their rivalry during their school days.  
>It was a good thing that Mrs Wu appeared then, before Warren had the chance to throw any fireballs.<p>

In those sorts of cases, of which there had been several over the past thirteen years since Barron Battle's arrest, it was best to leave him alone for a while, and Isolde was uncomfortable around the Pyro anyway, so the four girls sat at a different table, discussing Homework, until a yelp and a clatter dragged their attention to where Stronghold had spilled his tray over Warren, and was now slowly backing away. "I- I'm sorry."

Warren did not look in a conciliatory mood, and several nearby students started evacuating the immediate area as Warren advanced on the younger boy. "You will be."

Given that Warren frequently threw fireballs, and Stronghold had yet to gain any powers, they could appreciate Stronghold's clear reluctance to get into a conflict. Warren rarely picked fights, but the reporters had tried to get a quote about what Warren thought of the Commander's role in and fame for taking Baron Battle down. "Look, let's not do this."

Evanna gulped and looked nervously at the twins, who hurriedly re-packed their bags as Warren advanced on Stronghold. Isolde had already made herself scarce. "You think you can do whatever you want just because your name's Stronghold?"

Stronghold looked almost desperate to get out of the situation without violence. Alara sent Roisin a worried look, silently asking if her powers would be able to stop a fireball if Warren lost his temper. Roisin doubted it. "Look, I'm sorry my Dad put your Dad in jail."

Someone needed to sit Will Stronghold down and force-feed him a few clues. Evanna wondered if her transformed state would protect her if she threw herself over and tripped one of them. Getting between someone who brought up an obviously sensitive topic, in front of half the school, was not the best way to avoid being barbecued. Warren didn't seem to think so, either, as flames erupted from his hands. "Nobody talks about my father."

Those close enough to hear the _whoosh_ of flames started backing away. Stronghold's group of sidekick friends stood up, looking alarmed, which drew the attention of the rest of the cafeteria. The twins copied the motion, ready to take Warren's side if a full-fledged brawl broke out. Layla looked ready to panic, "Mr. Boy, do something!"

Layla's mother was a hero, but the girl still should have known better. Sidekicks were trained to be Hero Support. With very few exceptions, if there was trouble, you didn't outright intervene, you ran to find your hero. Now was not one of the exceptions, and Mr. Boy bolted out of the cafeteria, yelling for Principal Powers.

Unfortunately, this removed the only adult supervision, and Mr. Boy was barely out of the door when Warren threw the first fireball. Stronghold attempted to block it with a plastic food tray, only to end up with a half-melted tray, and a blackened hole in the middle.

Stronghold dodged and Roisin gave a small shriek as she dove out of the way of the second fireball, narrowly missing a follow-up that turned the already unrecognizable 'Meat-of-the-Day' into charcoal.

Stronghold ran for the fire blanket and emergency button mounted on the opposite wall, only to be sent flying when a very conspicuous hand grabbed him around the ankle, then quickly tried to retract several feet. Evanna brought her heel down hard as the arm passed her feet, resulting in a yell of pain from the other end of the room.

Warren didn't wait for Stronghold to get up, but summoned more fire, flames dancing most of the way up his arms as he created an even bigger fireball. Showing more self-preservation than he had earlier, Stronghold ducked under the nearest table, crawling as fast as possible to the other end. Warren leapt on top of the table, throwing fireballs at the sides as he tried to pin Stronghold down. Reaching the end of the table, Warren stood directly above a crouched Stronghold, who looked on the verge of outright panic. "Where are your sidekicks, sidekick?"

The Pied Piper would be quietly upset with him about his tone and phrasing, Warren knew, as would Alara, but he could apologize later. Meanwhile, he couldn't decide if said sidekicks were brave, suicidal, or both as they shoved their way over. The one who melted, Ethan, was trying to hide his obvious fear for their physical safety, the guinea-pig was as unreadable as always, and the one who sometimes glowed was making an obvious effort to sound heroic as he answered for all of them. "Right here!"

Roisin only sighed at the needless dramatics as Warren looked neither impressed nor intimidated, but powered up, creating a massive fireball. Ethan promptly melted. Under the table, Stronghold appeared to find his backbone again, pushing up on the bottom of the table, probably hoping to knock Warren off balance enough for his friends to escape impending firey doom. "Leave them alone!"

It was debatable who in the cafeteria was the most surprised than when Stronghold lifted both Warren and the table above his head. There was a slight hint of a laugh in Layla's voice as she broke the silence. "He's strong!"

Stronghold sounded almost disbelieving, as though it was too good to be true. "I'm strong?"

Roisin acidly wondered what the hell Gwen Grayson had thought she was doing, just standing around while the cafeteria got blown up. Gwen didn't seem too bothered at the twins' dual icy look. "He's Super-Strong."

Roisin winced as Stronghold threw the table away, sending Warren flying into a ceiling beam, and then falling down onto another table, cracking it in half. The rest of the cafeteria burst into cheers, while Evanna and the twins gasped and ran to check on the other participant. Roisin really hoped that Warren's inherited super-healing and mild invulnerability covered the kind of damage that would have caused.

It looked like he had, because Warren was swiftly on his feet again, though the table was a lost cause, the air around him actually shimmering with the heat he generated, flames dancing over his arms and part of his upper body as the pyrokenetic powered up.

The twins retreated to a safer distance, staying close enough to step in and back Warren up if necessary.

Stronghold raised his fists in a fighting stance and punched Warren through three walls into the teacher's lounge.

Roisin could see the shocked faces of Mr. Medulla and Coach Boomer as Warren jerked his body out of a decidedly bent pillar, stalking back into the lunch room with a deadly look on his face, brushing off pieces of rock and plaster. "You think I can't take a hit?"

The air around Warren actually started to shimmer with heat, and the students instantly started shoving each other to get clear as he started to run toward Stronghold, who fumbled, but managed to catch the fire extinguisher that Layla threw at him, trying to get it to work.

Unsure of how it would affect him, but doubting that it would be good, Evanna ran toward the combatants, shadows clearing her path. Water bottles burst from the fridges, forming a barricade around Will and Warren as Evanna flung herself forward, transforming in mid-air. It was the first time she had ever used her powers to take the offensive, and she hit Stronghold with enough of an impact to make him drop the fire extinguisher, but accidentally knocked Warren off balance enough to put out his flames when she dropped to the ground.

On the other hand, that wasn't an entirely a bad thing, appearance-wise, since it left a de-powered Warren facing a Will Stronghold who had just re-hefted the fire extinguisher just as Principal Powers walked in. A gentle tap from Warren's heel saw Evanna rolling back toward the twins, who stepped in front of her as she changed back, hiding her involvement as Principal Powers fixed both youths with a Look, turning on her heel with the obvious expectation that they follow her.

The fun over, most of the crowd dispersed toward the last class of the day. Roisin smiled at Evanna before hurrying off, her next class on the opposite end of the school. Alara draped an arm over Evanna's shoulder. "That was really brave of you. Do you want to come over after school? Mom doesn't bite, I promise."

It was also the first time anyone had asked Evanna over to their house, even just to study. She found herself smiling broadly. "I'd love to."

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><p>Evanna wasn't entirely sure what she had expected the Pied Piper to be like, but she was almost certain it hadn't been this.<p>

With her reputation of leaving her Hero in the lurch and making life difficult for Supers, Evanna supposed that she had expected something along the lines of a stern, unpleasant woman, or something like that. The woman who greeted her children with a smile and a hug, reminding them not to leave their bags on the stairs, before she disappeared into her study as a horde of squirells appeared bearing drinks and nuts, clearing off part of the bench, before vanishing out the window again.

Evanna blinked in surprise. She knew that the Pied Piper could communicate with rodents, but she hadn't thought of that as meaning anything beyond rats or mice. Roisin grinned at her expression as she put the nuts on the windowsill, cutting up some fruit instead. "Mom's showing off, but it makes a nice party trick. Normally she'd stick around, but the Giant Robot that Jetstream and the Commander fought at the beginning of the year took out half of her office building, and she needs to come up with a prosecution argument where there is no chance of the defense trying to get her thrown out on the technicality of not being impartial."

Warren chose that moment to arrive, having driven himself home after detention. "Knowing Aunt Patricia, she'll manage to get them for Slander on top of Damaging Public Property and Destruction of Private Property, just for the suggestion." He held out a hand to Evanna, "Thanks for what you did in the cafeteria. I appreciate it."

Evanna smiled at him, accepting the hand. It was such a pity that she was 95% certain that he would eventually end up with one of the Twins, if he dated any one of them. "You're welcome." She shrugged a little, "It's the first time I've been able to use my powers to actually help anyone. It's kind of a nice feeling."

The Pied Piper re-appeared from her study, getting herself a large glass of ice water. "Don't under-estimate yourself. A bit of experimentation and imagination, and you'd be surprised what you can do with your powers."

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><p><em>AN: I can never seem to get Will right when I try to write him, so please let me know how I did. I'm focusing mostly on the original/minor characters, but the main ones like Will and Co, by necessity, pop up every now and again._

_Thanks, Nat._


	6. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, or any of the associated characters._

_Summary: See Previous Chapters_

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><p><strong>CHAPTER FIVE<strong>

The twins had thought that using your powers to beat someone up five seconds after you gained them would, by rights, _stop_ a person from getting into the Hero Class. Of course, no one had beaten them up with powers, yet, but it was just common sense!

Evanna, years of bullying having stripped away most of her idealism, had a slightly more realistic view of things. No Hero wanted to get on the Pied Piper's bad side any more than they could avoid, and warned their offspring, and normal children learned early on that if the Twins didn't _start_ fights, they certainly finished them. Evanna had not been so lucky in her parentage of pre-Sky High training.

Warren was still seething at the very mention of the name Stronghold, and was in no mood to listen to reason. Not that any of the three girls were inclined to give it.

None of that, however, changed the fact that Will had taken less than a day to be moved from Sidekick to Hero, as Evanna had predicted on the way to school.

The Sidekick Class as a whole were understandably feeling very pleased with themselves the next morning. That four Sidekicks had stood up to Warren Peace while a bunch of Heroes had run screaming was a point of pride, and even a few of the more sensible Heroes were treating them with a bit more respect. Will seemed none the worse for wear after the fight and resulting detention, and was grinning like a maniac as he chatted with Layla.

Seated next to Evanna in the back row, Alara rolled her eyes, pulling out her homework. Under the pretence of comparing assignments, Evanna leaned over to whisper, "Do you think they'll realize that it won't change a thing about how Sidekicks are treated? Most of the Hero kids won't like being reminded that _they _were the ones who ran around like headless chickens."

Alara smirked at the mental image. "I doubt it. At least, they won't realize it until the next time a Hero tries to shove them into a locker."

Evanna giggled, and they had just started to compare assignments for real when Zach, Ethan and Magenta arrived. Zach immediately bounced over, giving Will a high-five. "Dude! You made Sidekick History!"

Ethan was, if possible, even more enthusiastic, although that might have something to do with the fact that he now had non-laughable back-up for whenever someone tried to dunk his head in the toilet. "Yeah! From now on, people mess with us at their own peril."

Evanna rolled her eyes, having shared Alara's view on the wisdom of standing up to a pyrokenetic with anger issues, and lacking optimism on the possibility of one Super-Strong Sidekick being an effective deterrent against _all_ of the school bullies. Roisin could toss most of them around like juggling balls, but even she couldn't be everywhere at once. As such, Alara could only agree when Evanna muttered something about 'suicidal morons'.

Layla's comment on the matter was not so glory-and-violence inclined, but no less encouraging. "You're breaking down barriers, Will. You're proving that we're not Heroes and Sidekicks, we're just people."

Ethan cut in again. "_Super_-people!"

The self-congratulation session was abruptly cut short by Mr. Boy's appearance, and the notification that Will was being transferred to the Hero Class. Alara supposed that she should not be surprised, as no one would expect the only son of the legendary Commander and Jetstream to stay in Hero Support, now that it turned out that he possessed Super-Strength, and was not, in fact, a literally powerless Sidekick. She pulled out a dollar and handed it to a smug-looking Evanna.

Far from bursting into cheers, like most of the class had expected him to do, Will actually looked upset, speaking in a strangely vulnerable, almost lost, tone. "What about them?"

'Them' was the rest of his group, most of whom were optimistic and encouraging about the whole thing, claiming that they would still see each other at lunch and on the bus. Magenta was the exception, predicting that Will would start to adopt a different attitude in order to fit in with his new, Hero, classmates. Alara considered throwing something at the shape-shifter, in defence of her twin through such generalizations, but decided that it wouldn't be worth it, especially when Mr Boy was standing right there. Maybe Will would have enough of his maternal family to prove Magenta wrong.

* * *

><p>Roisin and Isolde looked up from putting together a ray-gun when there was a blast of cold air two seats in front of them. They didn't stay distracted for long, as Melissa Fernandez (actually a Sophomore who had failed last year's Mad Science) 'froze' Ben Hellman at least twice a week.<p>

Roisin honestly felt sorry for the Cryokinetic. Teenage boys at the height of puberty had enough trouble keeping their hands to themselves as it was. When said boy had six arms to keep track of, it had to be much worse, so having four of them frozen to his sides was a regular occurrence, no matter how much it annoyed Mr. Medulla.

With so many of her extended family skilled in mechanics or technology, it was impossible to not pick up on some of the basics, but while Roisin knew her way around parts and designs, actually putting them together was another matter entirely.

That was where Isolde came in. She loved puzzles and models of any kind, and could put things together easily, but when it came to actually designing or writing about things, which made up a significant portion of their grade, she was about as much use as a Pyro in the Himalayas.

They were slowly but steadily working their way through the beginnings of the project of the week, (Mr. Medulla liked to see what they already knew before lecturing them on the topic) and Mr. Medulla decided that now was a good enough time to begin his lecture. "Rays! From the silliness of the Shrink-Ray, to the devastation of the Death-Ray, these are the very foundations of Mad Science."

The lecture was interrupted by a knock at the door, and everyone looked up to see a hesitant Will Stronghold. Mr. Medulla did not look surprised, but merely annoyed as he turned to look at Will. "Yes? They told me you were coming."

Isolde looked at Roisin, raising an eyebrow. Roisin shrugged in response, although in hindsight, they really should have expected it. Powerless, Will was condemned to being a sidekick, no matter who his parents were, but once he gained his powers, Super-Strength was a one-way ticket to the Hero side of things.

Even if Roisin thought that Stronghold would do best to stay as far away from her and Warren as possible.

The two girls shared a sympathetic glance when Mr. Medulla was forced, through lack of available lab partners, to pair him up with Gwen Grayson.

T. A., Student Body President, and the girl of many students' dreams she may have been, but all Technopaths gravitated to the verge of outright snobbery as far as most of the Mad Science curriculum was concerned. Even if they didn't outright brag (a direct path to bales of extra homework and a lecture on ethics if you were caught), the air of smug superiority was just as bad.

Sure enough, Mr. Medulla had barely started walking around before Gwen was watching Stronghold with barely-hidden condensation, though she managed to keep it polite. Isolde muttered an empathic prayer for luck and went back to putting the pieces together while Roisin handled the written part, both keeping an amused ear on Mr. Medulla's commentary. "Dreadful Technique! You've confused Rays with Beams!"

Isolde winced. The main difference could be either that Beams were much larger, and could consist of several parallel rays together, while a Ray was weaker, and often one of many, like a ray of sunshine. Either way, confusing the two, especially in such a confined area, was unlikely to have any kind of good consequence.

Mr. Medulla obviously agreed with that sentiment, although Melissa didn't look quite so upset at her partner's chagrined expression. "**D**! Minus! I'd give you an **F**, but that would only mean having to see you in summer school."

Roisin smiled as Mr. Medulla passed their station with a calm nod. With his gift for scathing remarks, it was easy to see why Mr. Medulla had been given a choice between teaching English and Mad Science, although his incredible mind had drawn him toward the latter. Isolde rolled her eyes again as she saw Gwen take advantage of the teacher's distraction to pass a hand over the disassembled parts, forming a perfect Freeze Ray Gun, would-be-casually making reference to her Technopathic gifts.

To his credit, Will admitted to having had nothing to do with the construction of the ray gun when Mr. Medulla stopped at their station, then aimed the gun at Ben Hellman, obviously expecting it to be a de-frost or heat ray, only to have him completely frozen. "Miss Grayson, in the future please allow the students to succeed, _or fail_, on their own."

Roisin could admit that she was not immune to the occasional bout of hubris, so it was nice to have a Third- or more-Generation Hero who could admit to their own failings. "Wow, all I can do is punch stuff."

Of course, this was practically an invitation for Mr. Medulla's biting commentary. "Yet, he'll be the one on cereal boxes. Show me the justice in that."

He continued making rounds, pausing as Roisin sniggered loudly. "Is something amusing, Miss Rose?"

Roisin froze, never fond of the spotlight, wishing yet again that her mother had picked a different name. "Did you see the last cereal box cartoon of the Commander? The Superhero Council managed to get it retracted, and they've spent the past four months trying to make Mom hand over the originals. So far they've failed."

That earned a rare smile. Despite their popularity among most, the Strongholds had bought more than a bit into their own legend, to the annoyance of Heroes who _didn't _rely on brute force to solve problems. The teacher turned away without further comment, spotting Melissa calmly ignoring her partner's plight. "Miss Fernandez, kindly thaw out Mr. Hellman."

Melissa could both freeze and unfreeze people, and shot a sulky look at Mr. Medulla's back as she mostly unfroze Ben, leaving four of his arms pinned to his side. Roisin and Isolde muffled giggles as they turned back to their own project. "So, the difference between a heat-cell and a cold-cell is recognizable by…"

* * *

><p>Evanna's parents had blown a fuse at the discovery that she had formed a friendship with Warren and the Twins, even after Evanna had pointed out the number of times they had stepped in to stop her being bullied. While they had acknowledged the point, they still didn't want her going over to the Pied Piper's house after school.<p>

That especially sucked, because the Pied Piper had allowed Evanna to use the obstacle course that she had set up as soon as Alara got her powers, building up agility, speed, and the basics of hand-to-hand fighting, but Evanna had put that argument away for later, and the quartet had solved the problem by going to study in Warren's apartment.

She didn't expect her parents to be any happier about that, when they eventually found out, but then she could present her argument as a choice between studying at the twins, or her parents' restrictions being the reason she spent the next four years friendless and bullied, as cliques had already formed by now, going inactive the second she graduated.

Evanna knew that the twins wouldn't ditch her just because Evanna's parents didn't like them, but her parents didn't.

None of the girls were really sure how to bring up the topic of the day, but Warren ended up doing it for them. "There's a rumour going around that Stronghold got transferred into the Hero track. True or Made Up?"

Roisin sighed. "True, I'm afraid. Might over right, again, I suppose."

Alara and Warren huffed in agreement, and Evanna had another opinion. "It would have to be strange, being transferred to a class who haven't really bothered to hide their scorn, just when he was finally becoming comfortable with his status as a sidekick. I mean, getting dragged away from your friends into a group that will try to turn them into former-friends if he wants to fit in."

Alara nodded. "Trouble waiting to happen, I think."

Warren tilted his head in agreement. "Catastrophe, you mean. I talked to Dad and Aunt Patricia, and do you know how many Sidekicks turned into Minions or SuperVillains because their Hero friends stopped hanging out with them and started treating them as inferior?"

Roisin agreed, having recently done a project on the subject. "The Superhero Council stopped keeping track of the exact number years ago, but far too many. It's the same story with a lot of Rogue Heroes, who were ostracized because they wouldn't give up their friends, and wound up going to extremes to change the system.

Alara took up the discussion again, elaborating for Evanna's benefit. "That's why Mum walked out on her Hero. He treated her like trash because of her 'limited' powers, never mind that she was the one to take out The Exterminator, who was terrified of rodents, by summoning a swarm of squirrels, turning her into a gibbering wreck, while Silverblade was busy insisting that he would have them out of there in a minute."

Evanna perked up. "Really? We have an assignment on how Sidekick powers can be used to the fullest in combat situations. I'm a bit stuck on how turning into an oversized ball is going to help anything."

Warren unlocked the front door, detouring into the kitchen for drinks, and the four of them settled down in the living room. "Well, in your transformed state, it would be easy to overlook you, and you could did really well when you blindsided Stronghold in the cafeteria."

Alara nodded. "Super-Speed villains tend to rely on just that power, rather than on gadgets and such, so if I could get hold of the water in their body, even if it only slows them down, that takes away their main defence."

Roisin took out a notebook. "Do you always change into a specific pattern, or is it based on what colours you are wearing at the time? It would make you the perfect trump card in open settings. No-one pays attention to a rubber ball that some kid forgot or dropped in the playground, until you turn back into yourself and hit them on the head."

Warren grinned. "It'd be good in enclosed areas, too, especially if it takes place in a mall and the Villain has smashed up a few shops."

Slowly, Evanna smiled. Maybe she wasn't doomed to end up as a sidekick with a useless power.

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><p><em>AN: Well, chapter six is up, and we're getting into the swing of things._

_As always, constructive criticism is very appreciated, but Flames are not. If you think it sucks, take a few minutes to tell me why, rather than spewing mindless insults._


	7. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: As usual._

_Summary: The Same._

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><p><span><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

Evanna might not be destined to be a useless sidekick, but that fate was looking very likely for Zack and Ethan, who were still favourite targets for Sky High's top bullies, especially since Will was spending most of his free time with Gwen.

Evanna had arrived on the latest scene about the same time as Speed and Lash, but since she had started to effectively fight back against any bullies and since Alara was with her, the two boys turned to easier targets. The two girls had debated if Zack's comment during Back-Up Knowledge class, in regards to people being defined by their parents was due cause to leave the bullies to it, but were about to step in when they heard Will's voice. Ethan did, too, because he bolted in that direction, but didn't quite make it. "Will!"

Stronghold came racing around the corner with his not-girlfriend just as Ethan was being stuffed into a locker, Zack glowing for all he was worth in the hopes of drawing attention from inside the locker. "Hey, guys, come on. Let him out, Zack too."

How they had managed to stuff such a tall boy into a locker in the first place was a mystery, but Zack looked very relieved to be out again. "You're not so tough when my boy Will is around, are you?"

The two bullies glared, ruining Zack's bravado when he automatically stepped back. "You better watch it, Stronghold, or that big mouth is going to get you in trouble!"

The fact that Will hadn't actually even said anything seemed to pass them by, despite the boy's protest. "Why don't we settle this in P.E.?"

Stronghold made another futile attempt at smoothing things over, meeting with a total lack of success. "Settle what?"

His friends were not helping at all. The chance to make Speed and Lash back down for even just a few months was too good to pass up just because their friend was unconfident in his own skill. " you're on! If Will beats you in Save the Citizen, you have to lay off the Sidekicks for the rest of the year."

Zack's contribution was not so helpful. "And if he loses, you can dunk Ethan's head in the toilet every day until graduation!"

Alara and Evanna exchanged a look, and practically skipped off to find Warren and Roisin. This was going to be interesting.

* * *

><p>Speed and Lash had a reputation for being undefeated at Save the Citizen, but it actually wasn't nearly as impressive as it sounded, if you looked at the facts.<p>

First of all, they tended to pick opponants who were weaker than them, or stronger students who worked badly together. Second, they always played as Villains, who only had to keep the Heroes from saving the Citizen to score a default win. Third, they had exactly one tactic, which they never varied from.

Unfortunately, Evanna, Warren and the twins appeared to be the only ones who had connected the dots so far, and were busy explaining it to Isolde, which meant that everyone who faced them in Save the Citizen got creamed in three minutes or less. Warren had been almost cheerful at the almost certainty that Stronghold was going to get a dose of the same humiliation he had, but less so at the equal certainty that Speed and Lash were about to have free reign over at least one unfortunate sidekick.

They stopped discussing strategy when Amy Ramirez, a Weather-Witch Hero in Roisin's class, and Michael Hamilton, a Healer sidekick in Warren's year, collided forcefully with a dumpster as the countdown began. They managed to pick themselves up just in time to watch glumly as the citizen dummy dropped into the rotating blades.

Coach Boomer didn't need superpower or a megaphone to be heard in every corner of the gym. "Ramirez! Hamilton! Your citizen has just been mulched because you failed to defeat your villains!"

The two 'Heroes' started stripping off the protective padding as the winners chest-bumped and Coach Boomer raised his clipboard. "All right, next round. Speed, Lash, you want to be Heroes or Villains?"

The two grinned as if it was a pointless question, which it sort of was. "Villains."

Even Coach Boomer knew that. "Ooh, there's a surprise. All right, who do you want to beat next?"

Lash grinned, going for maximum intimidation. Roisin leaned over to her sister, "Who else do you think they'll pick? Super strength doesn't really clash with anything, and there aren't many in the lower spectrum who don't get along with Stronghold."

Alara shrugged. "It's rare for them to pick someone based on personality clash, but Warren isn't the only person who is less than fond of the Commander."

Evanna nudged her to pay attention as Lash finally stopped being dramatic. "We'll take Little Stronghold... And we pick Peace."

OK, it was a fair bet that no-one had been expecting that, even if it did make a certain strategic sense. Will and Warren had made their animosity very clear, and it was unlikely that anyone would expect them to be able to work together.

That much was obvious by the way nearly all of the other students leaned away from Warren as he stood up.

Those who heard him as he stalked to the kit area would have assumed that he was muttering darkly... Until he raised his voice just enough for those closest - mostly sidekicks - to hear. "If there wasn't a bet about those two laying off the Sidekicks riding on this..."

Maybe there was a little much of his father in him, or perhaps it was his lawyer not-Aunt's influence. If the other students thought that he was willing to work with his nemesis to get Speed and Lash to back off, it might do some good toward his own reputation, even if they did credit Stronghold for the idea.

Of course, since Stronghold couldn't hide his emotion to save a life, someone might actually confront him on it, and denials that Warren had been in on it might even result in enough bad opinion to make the idiot think before he opened his mouth.

... And that was definitely Roisin's taste for convoluted plots making an appearance. Oh well. He could tolerate the Commander's spawn long enough to win this.

Perhaps it was a good thing that Warren had been chosen as the second Hero, because Stronghold by himself would have been creamed. He wasn't even listening to Coach Boomer's standard instructions, but waving at Gwen. Warren sent him the darkest look he could manage, which was not even close to his usual standard with the warmth of fire racing through his body, waiting to be unleashed. "Hey! Get your head in the game!"

Boomer looked approving. "You have three minutes to immobilize your opponents and save the citizen. Ready, set, BATTLE!"

If Warren had been paired with any of his friends, it would have been easy, since all of them knew better than to stand between him and a target. Stronghold did not, which meant that Warren could only brace himself for the opening move of Lash using one arm as a spring rope, giving Speed enough momentum to act as a human pinball and knock down his opponents.

It was a little insulting to be seen as less of a threat than someone who had come into his powers barely two weeks ago, but if Speed wanted to focus on keeping Will down, that freed Warren up to deal with Lash.

Lash, who should be making his predictable second move of wrapping his extended arms around one or both Heroes any second now... "Ha! What now, Peace?"

Warren brought his fire to the surface, hot enough to scald, but not to seriously burn. Too bad of an injury would see the match cancelled in a draw or Hero forfeit as Lash went to the Nurse, which would defeat the whole purpose.

Lash retracted his arms with a yelp, waving up at Boomer, who hadn't even twitched toward his whistle. "Hey, Coach, that's a foul! Call something on that!"

The coach didn't call fouls for less than a serious injury, and was actually smirking. He had often been paired with Baron Battle during their own school days, and while having just started teaching and a young daughter to protect had prevented him from standing up for Firestar, he was probably enjoying the novelty of Speed and Lash actually having trouble, for once.

Lash stretched himself tall, but was quick enough to sway to one side when Warren threw a fireball, hitting Coach Boomer's clipboard by mistake, prompting an irritated "Watch it, Hothead!"

Warren spared a moment to check on the coach as he patted out a smal fire on his shoulder, but Boomer had worked at Sky High long enough for all of his clothing and equipment to be flame-, freeze- and pretty much everything-else-proof.

Baron Battle had seen the Commander's favourite move enough times to recognise the warning signs, and had made sure his son did, too. That was all that allowed Warren to pull off a perfectly timed jump to avoid being knocked off his feet when the floor rippled, as Stronghold certainly hadn't thought to warn him.

Warren allowed himself a faint smirk as Stronghold earned a hint of approval by using Lash's own powers to tie him in knots around a lamp-post, but lost it again when he just stood admiring his work while Warren focused on Speed, who was regaining his feet after colliding with a bench head-first.

Warren powered up again, sending his mostly-useless partner a glare. "Hey! Save the damn citizen!"

He flared up again, as Speed looked to be aiming for another collision to knock Warren down, but the bigger half of the bullying duo changed course at the last moment, running around Warren in a tight circle. Warren felt a surge of alarm as the flames surrounding him flickered and started to go out.

That was almost impossible to do while the Pyro controlling the flames was still conscious, unless there was an external factor like a fire extinguisher or lack of oxygen. That prompted another surge of worry. Whatever Speed intended, Warren didn't think that the other tough had the control to stop at just putting out the flames.

Lack of air was making him dizzy when Speed was suddenly halted, running in midair. Falling to one knee, Warren only hoped that Stronghold wasn't going to make a big deal about saving him as the younger boy suddenly released Speed, who shot toward the lamp post that Lash was tied abound, sending both of them into the plexiglass wall.

Warren inhaled deeply, starting to stand up as the countdown began, mind racing with half-thought plans to save the citizen, but it looked like Stronghold had remembered a few of his mother's moves, too, because Warren felt himself being lifted by the belt and shoulder-pad, and hurled toward the citizen dummy.

Passing closer to the revolving blades than he particularly wanted, Warren grabbed the citizen and hit the ground in a roll, lifting the 'citizen' above his head to prove that they were 'alive' and intact, just as the bell sounded. He wasn't sure that he had ever heard Coach Boomer sound so thrilled at a win. "She's alive! Heroes win!"

Stronghold extended a hand to help him up, but Warren ignored it. Nurse Spex was waiting in the sidelines, and if he walked out of the ring any way but under his own power, she would fuss even worse than she was already priming up for.

* * *

><p>Roisin had been hidden in the toilet since not long after Save the Citizen had ended, crying and resisting all efforts to coax her back out. When Warren got back from the Nurse – checking that the lack of oxygen wouldn't have any lasting ill-effects - and finally scared away any witnesses and went in after her, he nearly ran straight back out when he found out why she was in there.<p>

Roisin had been having a pretty fair time at Sky High, as Heroes were less likely to bully their own, and a few of her classmates had even gone from 'acquaintance classmates' to 'casual friends'… which made it all the more devastating when Roisin had caught them comparing notes with the Senior triplet children of Starshaker, the head of the Superhero Council.

Apparently, Warren being able to co-operate with Will for three minutes so that they could win a game to defend the victimised sidekicks was being analysed, opinions now wavering toward the possibility that lack of parental influence might mean that he turn evil.

Normally, Roisin would have taken that as a positive thing, and been pleased... had the conversation not turned to if there were any indications that Roisin was following in her mother's Supervillain footsteps, and if they needed to remove a potentially-'redeemable' Warren from the twins' corrupting company.

She had made herself known to the backstabbing group by shadow-lifting a trashcan above their heads and upending it when Isolde casually waved off the suggestion that the twins might not be evil, or that she might care what Roisin or Alara thought. "They're going to be Villains anyway, so why would I care what they think? Stupid Villains, too, if they actually think that anyone would want to be their friend."

Warren had every intention of going straight back out and aiming a very large fireball at all six of those responsible, and damn the consequences, but in a rare bout of sensitivity that he liked to pretend didn't exist, he just melted the lock on the door closed and hugged his friend. Roisin had put up a strong front against prejudice for most of her life, pretending that the lack of trust didn't affect her, but the betrayal and deception were new, and far more hurtful.

Principal Powers would go easy on them for skipping class when Warren explained the situation, though the back-stabbers wouldn't get off so lightly. A shadow-construct would let Alara and Evanna know what was happening so they didn't worry. Nurse Spex would give them an early leave pass – Firestar and the Pied Piper had been favourites of hers while she was a student – and Roisin had always liked the motorcycle.

* * *

><p>With Alara over at Evanna's house after school (her parents had relented a little, but only allowed one of her friends over at a time) and the twins' parents away a conference, Roisin didn't want to stay home alone, but the Paper Lantern was short-staffed and couldn't cover for Warren's absence, so the Pyro brought her to work with him.<p>

Mrs Wu was formidable, but also very compassionate, so when Warren quietly explained what had happened, her lips had pressed into a thin line before she settled Roisin in a corner booth with tea, duck in lemon sauce, and her newest grandchild, who needed watching and had never yet failed at cheering people up.

It worked, after a fashion, in the sense that Roisin ended up not only with the grand-child, but also with Mrs Wu's nephew and the delivery-boy's younger sister, who were both struggling with homework. Playing impromptu tutor not only provided a distraction, but also put Roisin in a much better frame of mind.

She loved learning, and loved explaining what she knew even more, to the extent that her Middle School guidance councillor had recommended teaching as a future career. If she didn't know that she would be shoehorned into a career that would allow her to dash off at a moment's notice, and the newfound knowledge that the Superhero Council would never allow Sky High to employ her Roisin would have looked forward to it.

The judgemental back-stabbers at Sky High might not think much of her, but people who hadn't fallen afoul of her mother thought that the Pied Piper was a good person, and when High School was over, Civilian opinions counted for a lot. It was something that Warren and the twins had already planned to make use of after graduation.

Speaking of Warren, the dinner rush had died down, so Roisin glanced around and did a double-take when she saw him talking to Layla, who was sitting alone and looking miserable. Raising an eyebrow, she turned back to the Middle-schoolers, who were struggling with timelines. "OK, so what is the main problem here."

Mrs Wu's nephew pointed at the list of dates. "Numbers go forward in AD, but when I did the same in BC, my teacher marked it as incorrect."

Roisin nodded thoughtfully. "All right, do you know what BC and AD stand for?"

The delivery-boy's sister nodded. Before Christ and Anno Domini, which doesn't really make sense."

Roisin smiled. "It's Latin for Year of The Lord. Year 1 AD was supposedly the birth of Christ. Now, the thing to remember is that a timeline is positive and negative numbers. AD is like 'add', where numbers increase as you go forward. BC can stand for 'backwards chronologically' where numbers increase as they go backwards. Does that make sense?"

Mrs Wu's nephew made a careful note, "so 40 BC is actually after 200 BC. Is that right?"

Warren had approached while Roisin was explaining. "Perfect. I hate to interrupt, but the Lady Boss says I should be getting you home."

* * *

><p>Away from the two Heroes, the less-threatening twin had managed to convince Evanna's parents to allow her a sleepover after 'discovering' that she had left several homework-necessary books at the Rose house. That meant that they were home when Roisin and Warren returned and explained what had happened at school to put Roisin in such a state.<p>

After much ranting from Alara and outraged indignation from Evanna, the four settled down a little, curled up in one tangled group. Absently stroking her twin's hair as she leaned against Warren, his arm stretched over the couch cushions behind her shoulders, Roisin's voice was soft and almost vulnerable. "Do you ever think about self-fulfilling prophecies?"

On Warren's other side, Evanna lifted her head. "You mean when trying to avoid some event sets in motion the things that will make it happen?"

Roisin nodded and the tall pyro moved his arm from the couch to wrap around her waist, holding her a little tighter than before, his tone matching hers. "All the time."

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><p><em>AN: Work and various other Real Life pursuits have kept me too busy to have enough writing time for more than a one-shot here and there, but it's the holidays and I got an iPad for Christmas, so I won't need access to my actual computer to work on my writing, which means that I will be able to actually update my stories._

_Anyway, enjoy the chapter, and I'd love to know what you think._

_Thanks,_

_Nat_


	8. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, or any of the associated Characters_

_Summary: See Previous Chapters_

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

After an evening of feeling upset and crying on her _real _friends_' _shoulders Roisin decided that she had shed enough tears over those who weren't worth it, and walked into Sky High with a new determination in her stride. They didn't have to prove anything to anyone! The people who mattered knew who she was and accepted that, and the others she only had to deal with for another three years before they got a quick taste of how real life worked.

Walking into Homeroom, she smiled at Isolde as she took a seat next to Melissa, who she had had no problems with thus far. Let Isolde make of that what she would. Roisin hoped for some severe apprehension and mind games.

It was an unintentional, but welcome bonus when Ben walked in less than a minute later, and had to sit next to Roisin's former friend.

Melissa looked intensely relieved at an entire lesson without fending off the grabby boy, but also a little concerned at whatever had prompted Roisin's mood. "Did you two have a fight or something? I mean, you don't have to tell me, but you missed your afternoon classes yesterday, then you weren't on the bus, and Nurse Spex was looking worried."

Telling Melissa what had happened would leave Roisin and Alara open to scrutiny, but it would also tell how the other girl stood in regards to parental-based judging. "Turns out that Isolde had been pretending to be my friend so that she could report on how much I do or don't take after my mother. I was in the bathroom until Warren got an early-leave pass off Nurse Spex. She'd already been worried about how lack of oxygen and being forcibly powered-down might have effected him, so she let us both out early."

Melissa looked horrified. "That's one of the stupidest things I've ever heard! _Everyone _with functioning brain cells knows that the Pied Piper was _nothing_ compared to most Villains, and that not many lawyers are willing to work Super-related cases, so she's only doing her job! And besides, you and your twin aren't her."

Roisin gave a sad smile. "That makes you smarter than most of the Super population, then. Most of them just get annoyed at the inconvenience, and write us off as evil."

Marissa lowered her voice. "My dad's an Empath, and Mom is a court scribe for the Superhero council. Some of the cases your Mom worked on... Well, at least getting sued for damages made some heroes a bit more careful about collateral damage. And I know that the only time you're actually malicious is when you're trying to make a bully lay off people!"

Her voice had started to rise, making Isolde look over in curiosity. The deceitful flier swiftly looked down again when she was hit with dual glares from Roisin and Marissa, but was stopped from actually saying anything when Mr Medulla walked in to start the lesson.

* * *

><p>Warren was sitting at his usual table, waiting for Evanna and the Twins and trying to ignore the everyday high school drama with a book. It was working, until one such Drama decided to involve him in the form of the redhead from last night suddenly sitting down across from him. "Hi, Warren!"<p>

The Pyro barely managed not to blink in confusion. He might not be the best with social cues, but he was pretty sure that he hadn't done anything to her that would invite or imply a come-on. "Did I do or say anything last night to make you think this was ok?"

She let out a nervous laugh, and it was probably a bad sign that Warren was already gritting his teeth. "Funny. Seriously, though, you're never going to believe what happened. I was just about to ask Will to Homecoming when - wouldn't you know it - I told him I was going with you, instead!"

Warren stared at her, suddenly angry. He hadn't pegged Layla as one of Gwen's type, to casually use someone else for their own purpose, whether that person agreed or not, but then, few people had Penny or Gwen pegged as manipulative or cunning, either. "I don't remember that being the plan! Did it occur to you that I might have been planning to ask someone else?"

Evidently it had not, because her face fell, just in time for the sidekick who turned into a guinea pig to sit down. "Hey, Layla, did you do the homework?"

Warren tried very hard not to flame up, succeeding by the barest of margins. "What do you think you're doing?"

The purple girl merely gave him a bored look. That was admittedly rare. "It's called sitting."

Warren's voice was cold, in direct contrast to the heat that was trying very hard to break free. "Nobody sits here, but me and the people I choose."

She ignored him, talking to Layla about the Homework, and Warren felt his control slipping when the kid who melted sat down eagerly. "Hey, are we sitting with Warren now? I feel extremely dangerous!"

Warren felt his temperature skyrocketing, but didn't get to even open his mouth before the blond glowstick sat down, trying to act tough. "Layla, Magenta, is this guy bothering you."

The idea of impersonating his father and shooting a fireball at the lot of them had never been so tempting, and only the sight of Alara and Evanna approaching cooled him down. "Try the other way around. Please tell me your day has been better than my last five minutes, Alara!"

Evanna and Alara sat down on Layla's other side, offering sympathetic looks. "Roisin's on her way, she just got caught up explaining a confrontation to Mr Medulla."

Warren frowned. "Is everything all right? What happened?"

Alara shrugged. "Speed and Lash thought it would be easier to get her on her own, and she was proving them wrong when Mr Medulla showed up." She held up what looked like a semi-transparent, miniature black dragon. "She sent us a note and told us to go ahead."

Ethan blinked. "What is that? And how did she get it to you when Hero classes are on the other side of the school?"

Warren ignored him, smirking faintly. "She still hasn't managed to get her little shadow-messengers into any other shape, I see." Ethan looked fascinated, and Warren stifled a sigh. "It's a construct, like a living shadow. Most element-based Supers can make them, though what you can use them for is roll of the dice. Mom could use hers as sort of scouts, sending a construct around a corner or into a different room, and seeing through them."

Alara smiled, "I'm still working on it, since I work with the water inside things, and Warren is still working out the kinks in his."

Ethan leaned forward. "What kinks?"

The fact that Warren still couldn't make his look like anything but a fiery kitten. "None of your business. _Why _are you all suddenly being friendly, anyway?"

Layla randomly burst into obviously fake laughter, glancing off to the side. "Warren, you are crazy!"

Crazy was not a word Warren liked very much, especially after the number of people who had used it in reference to his father, but managed to force his incandescent rage into an incredulous look. Roisin took care of the dirty look as she approached, dodging an attempted trip by Penny. The glowstick edged over nervously, giving her room to sit as Layla lowered her tone, "Please, I promise I'll make this as painless as possible."

Warren caught Stronghold looking back at them, looking confused and a little hurt, and it wasn't hard to connect the dots. "So you're not doing this because you like me or anything. You're doing it to get to Stronghold."

It sounded really bad when you said it like that, as Layla clearly realized. Alara tilted her head in consideration before the redhead or Warren could say anything. "Sounds like a good reason to me. We don't care what people think about us going solo, right girls?"

Roisin looked like she might object, but reached over Ethan to pat Warren on the arm. "Save us a dance each, and we'll even back you up if anyone asks."

Warren grinned. "Then I'm in," he closed his book and picked up his bag. "But I am not renting a tux, and you two – " he turned to the twins, " – get to explain it to Aunt Patricia."

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><p>Warren had thought that it would be fun to drive Stronghold crazy by taking the Hippie to Homecoming, but he hadn't taken into account how the rest of the population might act or think.<p>

As it turned out, he didn't need to worry about the Pied Piper, as she listened to the explanation, exchanged glances with Mecha-Girl, and burst out laughing. Evanna, over for a study session, looked as confused as Warren felt, though he hid it behind a scowl. "Someone want to explain?"

The bell rang, and the two Hero Support ran to answer the door. From the way Evanna burst into giggles somewhere in the front hallway, Alara was willing to explain to her, at least. Roisin just gave him an enigmatic smile as she searched through her books. "You're trying to make Stronghold jealous, but that'll never work if he catches on that you're just pretending. You're going to have the green girl hanging off you whenever her crush is within sight or hearing range."

Warren hadn't considered that, and swore vividly. Roisin patted him on the shoulder and headed inside, trying to stifle her own laughter.

Warren considered the possibility of playing off Stronghold's white knight complex and telling Layla to act like he broke her heart or some sappy shit, but decided that Stronghold was probably too dense, and Layla too self-sacrificing, for the idiot to figure it out even if the hippie ran into his arms in tears.

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><p>It was worse than the twins had warned him.<p>

Layla bounced over to whatever he was doing as soon as Gwen and Stronghold appeared, chattering away and calling him things like 'cutie'. The other Sidekicks wouldn't leave him alone, no matter what he did, and their presence often meant that, while Roisin could be unobtrusive enough, there often wasn't room at the lunch table for Alara and Evanna.

The Pied Piper, when he asked for help, had done a good job at concealing her disappointment at his not going with one of her daughters, and promised to see if she could think of a way to get Layla to tone it down.

As it turned out, her Plan was to 'accidentally' bump into Layla's mother while shopping and warn her that she was very fond of Warren, so if Layla hurt him in her bid to get Will's attention, there would be consequences. All Superheroes knew the amount of trouble and paperwork generated by the Pied Piper's idea of 'consequences', and Layla, after several hours being interrogated by her parents, had toned it down a bit, but that didn't make them leave him alone altogether.

It also meant that the Cryptographer found out, and told Warren's father.

While Baron Battle had been nice enough to wait until after Warren's visiting time was up to start laughing, and to reassure him that unless the Stronghold boy was brain-damaged, it would be over soon, he hadn't been able to restrain a smirk while telling him to at least wear a proper suit.

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_A/N: Sorry for the long wait between updates. I had the chapter mostly written, with one or two problems that just wouldnt llet me write them! Full-time woek and part-time study also do not a calm or relaxed writer make, so my writing time was mostly turned into study time._


	9. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, or any of the associated characters, and no profit is being made from the publication of this fic._

__Summary: See Previous Chapters.__

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><p><p>

**CHAPTER NINE**

It didn't help that Will Stronghold had taken to hanging out at the Paper Lantern, probably in the hopes of catching one of the sidekicks, who were still avoiding him.

For the first few days, Warren successfully avoided him while the girls came up with increasingly absurd theories about what had happened to stop Stronghold from hanging out with Gwen and her followers, now occasionally joined by Melissa. Finally, Warren decided to just ask, carefully avoiding the double-date of Mr Medulla and Coach Boomer with a pair of twins, both of whom were practically hanging off the Mad Science professor.

Direct Confrontation would be a bad idea, so Warren picked up the barely touched plate, despite not being on shift, pretending not to recognise him. "Did you want... What are you doing here?"

Stronghold glanced up, looking depressed enough to give a straight answer. "I'm looking for Layla. Do you know where she is?"

Given that Warren had taken to avoiding the lot of them whenever he could, he didn't. "Why would I know?"

Stronghold looked briefly indignant, before lapsing back into mope-mode. "Well, you're taking her to homecoming."

And if the relationship were in any way real, he might have had a point. "Oh, yeah. Right."

The bland remark earned a brief glare. "Well, at least you don't have to worry about me ruining your night."

Oh, please don't let the idiot be planning some kind of noble stepping-aside-so-they-could-be-happy thing. Then Warren would be stuck with Stronghold's Sidekicks permanently! "And why is that?"

Stronghold shrugged. "Because I'm not going."

So all the frustration of the past two weeks was for nothing? Seriously? He might as well spill the beans. "Well that sucks. We were only going together because Layla wanted to make you jealous."

Oh, good: confusion. The angst was getting boring. "Huh?"

Warren rolled his eyes, pointedly taking Roisin's hand when she came over to see what was going on. "Dude, you're so stupid. She's totally into you."

The glumness returned. "Not after tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if Layla or any of the other guys never want to talk to me again."

Roisin glared at the younger boy. "Well, then you'd better make it right again, because I'm sick of not being able to talk to my friend without your friends hanging off him waiting for you to pull your head out of Gwen's ass!"

Stronghold looked indignant. "Well, good for you. Besides, I dumped Gwen last night."

Another reason to make up with your friends fast, because Gwen was sure to find some way to make him suffer for that. "That's likely to earn you a few points."

Warren agreed, unable to resist driving the knife a little deeper. "Though you must have been a real jerk. Because no matter what I do, I can't get them to stop talking to me."

Arm in arm, he and Roisin walked back to their table, dodging Mrs Wu's approving look (she had cornered Warren to inform him that a girl who was clearly in love with someone else was not good enough for him when Layla had first started hanging around him), and leaving Stronghold to face his mistakes.

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><p>Melissa had joined the ranks of those who didn't care who your parents were, which led to joining Evanna at the Twins' house to get ready for Homecoming.<p>

Warren had been hoping that Stronghold would come to his senses and allow him to duck out of Homecoming altogether, and left it too late to find a suit in his size. The Pied Piper had come to his (dubious) rescue by producing a suit that had belonged to his father, a disturbingly soft look in her eyes when she saw him.

Warren gave her an alarmed look, not thinking he looked that bad. "What's wrong?"

The soft look only increased, matched by that of Mecha-Girl, who was over for the weekly Cards Night. "I know you're sick of hearing it, but you look so much like your father right now. Both of them would be so proud."

Warren resisted the urge to squirm, unused to his fierce, unyielding aunt acting so sentimental. "How much longer do you think the girls will be? Being late will defeat the purpose of this whole nightmare."

He didn't know about Melissa, but Evanna and the twins never took more than twenty minutes to get dressed on the worst of days! What could have caused them to be up there for over an hour?"

Mecha-Girl and the Pied Piper exchanged looks that clearly conveyed that he just didn't understand, but Warren was saved by a voice from the stairs. "Oh, stop complaining. We'll be fine."

Warren turned around and stared. Roisin was stunning in a flowing dark red dress with a high waist and a low neckline, her dark hair framing her face in loose waves. Alara wore the same dress, but in silver-grey, her hair pinned up in curls. Evanna had opted for a pale blue, knee-length sheath, and Melissa was the 'girliest' of them all, in a very frilly, very white strapless dress.

The Cryptographer closed his eyes, clearly dreading the idea of people actually noticing his daughters in a positive way. "Warren, try to have them back by midnight, even if you have to leave the Williams girl high and dry."

Warren didn't roll his eyes at the thought of making the girls do anything. "Of course."

The Pied Piper did not share his restraint, kissing her daughters and hugging Warren. "Try to have fun, even if the circumstances aren't ideal. And don't crash the flying car."

Well, they had each other, so it wouldn't be a total nightmare.

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><em>AN: Short chapter, I know, but this was the best cut off was meant to be up on Friday, but I spent the weekend visiting some friends and their three-week-old baby. She is way too cute for words, and I really need to build up a resistance to the clucky feelings that pop up every time I get to cuddle her._

_Anyway, I hope all my readers enjoyed it, and I leave you with a question: What kind of Role, if any, should they play in Royal Pain's attempted takeover? Reviews, suggestions and constructive criticism are very useful and I update faster when I know people are reading and interested._

_Thanks,_

_Nat_


	10. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, or any of the associated characters. Any similarities to other fan fics are entirely co-incidental._

_Summary: See Previous Chapters._

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><p><strong><span>CHAPTER TEN<span>**

Evanna laughed as Warren spun her around the dance floor, taking a chance to enjoy himself before Layla showed up and he had to put on an act. Alara had the opening dance, and Roisin the only slow song thus far, but that was hardly unexpected. Evanna was more than content with having someone to dance with at all.

The music ended with a brief and polite round of applause for the band, and Warren gave a small sigh as he spotted Layla walk in, dressed in a vibrant green, vaguely Grecian gown. "Duty calls. Can you give my apologies to Melissa and tell her I'll be over when Stronghold shows up? Hopefully he won't take too long."

A snicker came from where the twins were dancing nearby, totally unconcerned with what anyone thought of them. "With the Commander's love for dramatic entrances? Don't bet on it."

Warren huffed in combined resignation and amusement as he headed to the punch table, where Mr Boy, who had drawn one of the short straws as chaperone, was talking to Layla. She, at least, was not enjoying the occasion. "The guys at this school are jerks!"

He knew silently appearing behind her was cliche, but he couldn't resist. "Thanks a lot."

Oh, yes, the deer-trapped-in-headlights expression was definitely worth any amount of teasing. "I thought you weren't going to rent a tux."

Layla really needed to stop providing such perfect openings, they were just too tempting to resist. "It's my Dad's. He doesn't have much use for it in Solitary, and the Pied Piper refused to let me show up in a leather jacket."

Layla clearly didn't know how to respond to that, but plastered on a smile and picked up the first thing that came to hand. "Cheese cube?"

Warren managed to not roll his eyes, but it was a close thing. "No. If you want to keep up appearances, I promised you a dance."

He tried to sound at least a little enthusiastic, though how well he managed was anyone's guess. To her credit, Layla did a good job of hiding her disappointment that Stronghold hadn't shown up yet, and took his hand.

Fortunately, they didn't have to pretend long, as Evanna caught sight of The Commander and Jetstream waiting just outside the door, talking quietly. She signalled to Warren as Principal Powers took the stage. "Please welcome The Commander and Jetsteam!"

In the applause that followed, ranging from dutiful to enthusiastic, no-one noticed the twins, Warren and their friends rolling their eyes at the theatrics, which was probably a good thing. The Principal glanced at a piece of paper. "Good Evening. First, a quick announcement. The owner of the fusion-powered jet pack, you left your lights on."

Mr Medulla looked acutely embarrassed as he tried to make his way out, amid stifled giggling. "Excuse me. Sorry."

Principal Powers quelled the amusement with a stern look. "And now, please join me in welcoming the head of the Homecoming Committee, the girl who made all of this possible: Gwen Grayson!"

Gwen took the stage in a pink and yellow dress that the girls considered only just this side of tacky. Melissa kept her voice lower than the applause as she nudged the two sidekicks, "whoever told her that those shades go together needs to be slapped."

The applause stopped about the same time as the muffled giggles, and Gwen smiled a bit too sincerely. "Thank you, Principal Powers, and a very special thank you to our guests of honour and the recipients of our first-ever Hero of the Year award: The Commander and Jetstream!"

More applause, as Warren caught Roisin's eye and they exchanged exasperated looks. Jetstream wasn't too bad, but the Commander really didn't need his ego stroked any bigger. Gwen waited for silence again. "And to mark this occasion, we've planned a special tribute to the most powerful super-being ever to walk the halls of Sky High!"

Wait, super-_being_? When the award that they had been told about was being jointly presented to two people? And the phrasing sounded worryingly familiar, like when some of the twins' mother's less reputable friends got a few drinks in them...

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><p>Well, they had been right in that Gwen Grayson was too perfect for it to be real, and at least they could have the satisfaction of saying "We Told You So" to anyone who was still alive to listen.<p>

Royal Pain's armor snapped onto place around her as most of the school stood in stunned silence. A minion darted forward, kicking the podium and popping it open to pull out a ray-gun. After a brief, obligatory pause for flashy lights and ominous music, the Commander stepped forward. "Royal Pain is a girl?"

Warren rolled his eyes. Despite his very sincere dislike of the man, he hoped that the Commander didn't underestimate Royal Pain based on her gender. That could get messy.

Royal pain was even less pleased than Warren, and made it obvious. "Yes, I'm a girl, you idiot! How I ever lost to a fool like you, I'll never know! Now prepare to be pacified!"

Evanna nudged Roisin. "She'll aim for the Heroes first. Get out and find a way to call back-up. We'll distract her."

It was one of the first things the Pied Piper had taught them: when out-numbered, out-matched or in a panicking crowd, call or send for back-up as early as possible. Solo heroics against an enemy whose endgame was unclear was a good way to get yourself killed.

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><p>The two Hero students slipped through the crowd and out of the gymnasium, ducking behind a row of lockers to hide as Penny, Speed and Lash walked past, looking far too pleased with themselves to be anything less than directly involved with Royal Pain's plot.<p>

They broke into a run as soon as they were clear of any possible observers or security cameras (Alara had searched those out as soon as power placement was over - hopefully Royal Pain didn't have any extra minions in the security room.)

Their destination was the Technology Lab, and Roisin wove a net of shadows as an extra precaution, hiding them from view as Melissa swiftly picked the lock.

The computers had an program built in so that destruction or serious damage sent an alert straight to the cryptographer. Since it was the middle of Homecoming and everyone was supposed to be in the gym, an alert of computer destruction with extreme prejudice should bring the Cryptographer and whatever reinforcements he had on speed dial in very short order.

Shadows solidified and hit the nearest computer at high speed, while a burst of ice put out any hint of fire. An Alarm flashed silently, signalling that the alert had been sent, and that it had been caused by someone deliberately using their powers.

Hopefully, it wouldn't take too long for the backup to arrive.

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><p><em>AN: Sorry for the wait. I've tried to keep to a schedule of updating, but in the end, it comes down to what is currently inspiring me. I know it's a shorter than usual chapter, but since I'm still deciding whether or not to have the girls actively involved, I thought it best to end here and give you this chapter._

_I'm not begging for reviews, but it's really discouraging when I spend weeks working on a chapter and no one seems to care enough, one way or the other, to comment on what was good and what needed improving._

_Thanks,_

_Nat _


	11. Chapter 10

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, or any of the associated characters._

_Summary: See Previous Chapters_

_A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my twin, Sally, who died December 26, 2005_

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><p><strong>Chapter Eleven<strong>

The first thing to do was set up something to delay any escape by Gwendoline and her minion.

A thin layer of black ice over the steps, and a hanging snare at the base of the steps, using some invisible rope from the mad science lab, would do for that. Then, it was back inside to try and get the others to safety, while avoiding Gwen, Speed, Lash and Penny.

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><p>There were half a dozen babies on the floor, crawling around in vastly oversized clothes, and Royal Pain's minion was cackling and spouting off lame one-liners. Mr Medulla walked back in just in time to step into a shot meant for Principal Powers. "What did I miss? Argh!"<p>

Principal Powers obviously realised that she was the next target, and that there was no way to dodge without running over someone, and no way of telling what would happen if she got Pacified while in her comet form. "Boomer, get the kids out of here!"

Coach Boomer spotted first the barred doors, then Warren, standing in front of Alara and Evanna with ignited fists, and waiting for a clear shot. Stronghold's sidekicks were fighting their way toward him, and the coach took a combative stance. "Hothead, find an exit! Get as many people out as you can, I'll slow her dow..."

Warren didn't bother to watch as Gwen's minion hit the coach, but glanced at the girls behind him. "Either of you two know the nearest exit?"

That was another thing that the Pied Piper insisted every low-powered super should know: at least two exits from any room they spent more than a minute in. Evanna pointed off to the side, where there was a grate just big enough for average-to-small-sized teenagers to crawl through. Warren blew it open with a fireball, as Alara threw a barrage of water bottles at Royal Pain and the minion to distract them.

As the largest, and with the most offensive power, Warren led the way in, followed by his friends, and then Stronghold's Sidekicks, trying to match the chute to his mental map of the school. It wasn't helped by the comments from behind him. "Where are we?"

"Hey, Warren, how about a light?"

Evanna twisted as much as she could to stare incredulously. "We are in a metal pipe."

Alara chipped in, "Metal is a heat conductor."

Warren elaborated for those who obviously didn't get it. "Only if you want to get barbecued."

Second from the back, Zach started to glow green. "If you ladies will excuse me..."

Said ladies pressed themselves as tightly to the side as possible, glad that he was very much on the thin side. Magenta couldn't let it go without comment. "Then all the reindeer loved him..."

Alara growled under her breath as Ethan chipped in, "Way to glow, Zach!"

Evanna sighed, "Can we stop with the lame puns, please? I can _feel_ my braincells committing suicide."

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><p>Melissa and Roisin were quietly making their way down a corridor when Will Stronghold almost barrelled into them, not bothering with stealth. The two girls exchanged exasperated looks. Heroes with strength-based powers never seemed to have any plan beyond 'Charge-in-and-hope-for-the-best'. "Do you <em>want<em> Gwen and her buddies to hear us half-way across the school?"

Stronghold skidded to a stop. "Good, you guys got out. Do you know what's happened to everyone else?"

Melissa shook her head as they started to run again, turning a corner and skidding to a halt when a ventilation shaft started glowing with a light that wasn't normally seen outside the Mad Science lab. Stronghold yanked the cover off, and Zach poked his head out. "'Sup, kid?"

The others piled out, Warren and Alara pulling Roisin into a brief hug as Stronghold practically bounced in place with agitation. "Guys, you're never going to believe this. Gwen – "

Layla cut him off, " – is Royal Pain's daughter."

Stronghold deflated slightly. "Right, and she – "

Warren let go of the twins and broke in, " – stole the Pacifier."

Roisin gripped his hand, "And recruited some backup. Give me a stupid villain any day."

Will nodded, "Yeah, and – "

Zach and Magenta moved in closer, " – and she turned everyone at Homecoming into babies, including your parents, dude."

Will blanched dramatically. "OK, that I didn't know."

Rare sarcasm coloured Layla's tone. "I think that this is more than even the great Will Stronghold can handle."

A blind person probably wouldn't have missed the way Stronghold winced, looking around at the small group. "She's right. It's going to take all of us."

Magenta sounded far less confident than usual, though the note that suggested amazement that the person she was addressing could walk and breathe at the same time was still very much present. "All of who? You and Warren? Ice and Shadows over there? The rest of us are only sidekicks."

Alara scowled at her. "Speak for yourself, hamster-girl."

Stronghold intervened before a fight could break out. "Having powers doesn't make you a Hero. Sometimes it just makes you a jerk. Makes me a jerk. I guess what I'm trying to say is – "

Layla looked like all her dreams were coming true at once as she stopped him from falling over himself any further. "We get it: you've been a jerk."

Warren stared at the two of them incredulously. The others collectively rolled their eyes as the Commander's son finally did something about the _bleeding obvious_. "Layla, in case my Homecoming date ends up killing me tonight, I just want you to know…"

Melissa and Evanna exchanged a long glance as the twins merely looked bored, all expecting a dramatic speech. Instead, Will just pulled Layla close and kissed her. Warren was about to break into sarcastic applause when Penny's voice interrupted them. "Isn't that sweet? I _hate_ sweet!"

She stood at the end of the hall, flanked by Lash and Speed. Will sighed. "You guys are a part of this too? Why am I not surprised."

Warren pulled off his jacket to free up his arms, moving into a flanking position as the others spread out across the hall. "Go take care of Gwen. Roisin, stay with him. We'll handle these clowns."

Will didn't waste time with doors or walls, but simply barged right through them, Roisin close on his heels. Zach ushered Alara and Magenta back into the ventilation shaft. Warren ran to a junction that would give him a better chance against Speed, followed by Melissa. Penny created several clones and chased after Layla, while Lash grabbed Ethan and Evanna.

Evanna changed into a ball and was kicked down the hall, bouncing off a locker and zig-zagging down toward the cafeteria, where the last of Penny's clones was disappearing through the door. Changing back and rolling to her feet, Evanna tackled one and put them in a choke-hold, trying to sound as threatening as possible. "All right, bitch, what's the end-game?"

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><p>They could hear Gwen's villainous monologue two corridors away, though thankfully they were spared the opening melodramatics. "…She hatched a plan so daring, so visionar- ack!"<p>

Gwen's dramatic parade down the steps came to an abrupt end as she hit Melissa's black ice, her strut becoming a very undignified skid, complete with flailing arms. A swirl of shadows caught the Commander before he could hit the ground, moving him out of the way to safety.

Regaining her balance, Gwen's took another step and sustained a nasty bang to the head as her legs were caught in an invisible snare and she found herself hanging upside down, spinning slowly to spot an angry Will Stronghold and a smirking Rose twin. The Villainess's daughter laughed. "I'll leave you to deal with her, shall I? Try not to get distracted."

The girl, the Hero twin, if she was using shadows, but whose name Gwen had never bothered to learn, tossed off a mocking salute and used the shadows to boost catapult herself through an open window, leaving the ex-couple to face off against each other.

As attempting to talk Gwen down failed spectacularly and he was tackled through about ten walls, Will could only think that this was not going to be pretty.

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><p>Warren and Ethan high-fived as Speed went flying into a plaster fresco, before Warren ducked into the toilets to tie Lash into the most complicated knot he could think of before the bully managed to extract his head and neck from the pipes. Getting his head out would take longer without leverage, and the knot would buy them at least ten minutes.<p>

He walked out in time to catch Roisin, who was muttering darkly about needing more practice at running in heels. She knelt next to Melissa, who Speed had picked out as the bigger threat and shoved into a row of lockers at nearly a hundred miles per hour. Melissa had managed to form a protective shell of ice around her head, stopping her from having her skull split like an egg, but it wasn't enough to stop her from being knocked unconscious.

Roisin closed her eyes and focused on sensing the shadows in Melissa's body, similar to how Melissa and Warren could sense people in the dark through body heat. There was no permanent damage, and head-wounds were tricky things, but Roisin managed to shrink the shadows that indicated bone-deep bruises. They needed everyone awake and focused if they were to hold out until re-enforcements arrived.

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><p>The clone that Evanna was choking into submission was even dumber than Penny herself; a very difficult thing to accomplish. That, or the clones were simply as useless with details as the original copy. "Destroy school, start new supervillain academy with the pacified ones."<p>

Evanna dug her knee into the clone's spine. "Details, you insipid twit! How is she going to destroy the school?"

Breaking glass and an explosion of vines inside the cafeteria distracted them, and the clone slumped over, unconscious. Luckily, the clones that Layla had tied up were far more knowledgeable and talkative. "Don't leave us here to die!"

"Royal Pain sabotaged the anti-gravity device!"

"The whole school is going to fall out of the sky!"

"We only have ten minutes!"

Evanna and Layla exchanged panicked looks and ran to find the others.

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><p>Ron Wilson, Bus Driver, knocked Stitches flying off the bus in a Superhero physical combat move that had taken hours upon hours to perfect. Royal Pain's minion rolled to a halt at the feet of four adults, who simply trampled over him on their way into the school. Fortunately, Royal Pain had left scratch marks on the black ice, letting them avoid it, or their charge could have ended badly.<p>

The Cryptographer and Mecha-Girl reached into the School computer system. Mecha-Girl found the controls for the cages in the Senior Mad Science lab, releasing the various rodents. Some of them had been genetically modified, but all of them listened to the Pied Piper.

The Cryptographer had read enough reports of Royal Pain's actions to recognise the effects of the Pacifier, even if the abundance of babies hadn't been enough of a clue. It was the work of a moment to find the student records and send a collective notification to the parents, informing them of what had happened and warning them to come up with a plan before they charged in.

Melissa's father, the Peacebringer, stayed behind to help unload the babies, while the other three took off toward the school and the sound of combat.

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><p>Layla and Evanna spotted the others as Melissa sat up and Speed extracted himself from the wall, joined by Lash, still un-knotting his arms and trying to look menacing while soaking wet and smelling like a sewer. Whatever they had planned failed utterly as they were knocked off their feet and borne away by a small horde of rats and other rodents.<p>

The genetically modified rats broke away to gather around the Pied Piper and Cryptographer, both of whom were doing a far better job of looking menacing than any of the teenage wannabe villains. The Cryptographer blinked at the rest of the rodents that rushed past them. "Dear, are there lemmings in that wave?"

The Pied Piper smirked coldly. "Hanging off the edge of the school will keep them out of the way and teach them that being a schoolyard bully doesn't mean you're ready to face the big guns."

Zach, Ethan and Magenta edged away nervously as Alara and Warren grinned. The smiles faded as Layla and Evanna sprinted up. "Royal Pain is planning to sabotage the anti-gravity device. Is there a room that will have building schematics?"

The Cryptographer pulled out a tablet that expanded to the size of a small display board. He tapped a few times on the screen, focusing on what he needed to see. The building schematics might have been stored in the SuperBuildings Ltd main computer halfway across the country, but distance only added a few seconds for the semi-retired Technopath.

Layla swiftly spotted the only way that wouldn't take them at least twenty minutes, but started from the beginning. "Here's the anti-gravity room."

Magenta glanced at the various paths leading to it, calculating time and distance. "But didn't Royal Pain seal off every route?"

Ethan spotted something potentially useful. "Hey, what about this conduit?"

Zach disagreed. "No, you'd have to be the size of a rat to fit in there."

Warren, Evanna, Melissa and the twins looked at the Pied Piper, who frowned: rats, even genetically modified ones, were not always good with directions, and they didn't have time for mistakes. Everyone else looked at Magenta, whose shapeshifting form wasn't much bigger than a rat. The purple-clad girl sighed. "Oh, great."

Nevertheless, she shifted, Zach carrying her as they ran to the conduit access point. The Hero students branched off to the Gym, where loud crashes and the sound of things blowing up suggested the location of Will and Gwen.

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><p><em>AN: Yes, I know that this has taken way too long to update, and that it was a cliff-hanger._

_On the bright side, I'm currently on holiday and should have more writing time soon. Check out my other stories '__**Cinderella Grows a Spine', 'Not What You Expected' **__and __**'A SCA Girl in Middle-Earth'**__ if you want something to read in the meantime that will be updated in the near future, and don't forget to review!_

_Really, 58 follows and only 2 of them bothered to say anything about the last chapter? Not very encouraging._

_Thanks,_

_Nat_


	12. Chapter 11

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, or any of the associated characters_

_Summary: See Previous Chapters_

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><p><span><strong>Chapter Twelve<strong>

Magenta sulked quietly as she scurried down the small pipe, listening to Zach call encouragement from a distance.

Yes, this was an important task, and something that only she could do, but she always felt far too vulnerable in her shifted form, which had been the subject of far too much teasing. No one teased her mother, who shape-shifted into a very large grizzly bear, but no, Magenta had to get the cute-and-cuddly rodent form.

That was partly why she had chosen the goth, tough-girl, the-world-is-beneath-me attitude that she projected to the world at large. If she could make people focus more on the 'DANGER: Handle with caution' vibe than they did on the instinctive 'awww-factor' of her shifted form, perhaps she stood a chance of being taken seriously, sidekick or not.

It was just a pity that her voice while shifted made her sound like she'd been breathing helium, and destroyed any chance of anyone taking her seriously. "This is so stupid!"

It was nice that Zach didn't think so, and kind of flattering that he liked her in both human and animal forms, even if she probably hadn't been supposed to hear the comment about her legs. "OK, go about ten feet, and there should be an opening on your right."

The echoes made it slightly harder to hear, but there was only one opening near her. Magenta turned right. "Got it."

Understanding what Ethan and Zach were saying only grew harder with distance, especially since Zach then had to raise his voice, amplifying the echos. "Find the access panel, it leads straight to the generator!"

This was going to be harder than it had originally seemed.

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><p>Layla and the other three Hero students made it to the Gym, no longer caged off, in time to see Will punch Royal Pain hard enough to knock her helmet off. Relief and inexperience or ignorance could probably be blamed for Layla's cardinal mistake. It was one of the first rules that Warren and Roisin had been taught: <em>'There are few things that can't wait until AFTER an opponent has been defeated. NEVER distract someone in the middle of a climatic battle.'<em>

The second rule was: _'If it CAN'T wait, yell something that will grab the attention of BOTH parties, and explain in as few words as possible'._

Then again, their parents had possessed a larger dose of common sense than most Supers, and Layla's mother was a currently-inactive Pacifistic Hero, whose missions had mostly involved convincing wild or genetically modified animals to stop attacking humans. Perhaps she had skipped teaching Layla that rule.

Either way, Will stopped mid-punch and looked up when Layla yelled his name, giving Royal Pain the chance to blast him off her and through a window. Melissa sighed as Layla screamed, managing to keep her voice down. "Well, our chances of victory just plummeted even faster than Stronghold is."

Fortunately, Royal Pain made the mistake of starting a monologue, rather than take advantage of their shock and weakened position. "And there goes your last chance of stopping me!"

Normally, Roisin would appreciate Melissa's black humour and take a few mental notes on the speech for her next Literature class on Monologues, but this time she only shook her head and pointed as Warren grabbed Layla to prevent her lunging forward. "Maybe not."

Pointing behind your opponent was a trick older than time, which most people somehow still fell for, but it so happened that Roisin actually was pointing at something. Or rather, someone. Will Stronghold was probably thanking the fates that children of two Supers could inherit both powers, usually in very harrowing circumstances.

His technique could use some work, but since Stronghold had only had his Flight powers for a few seconds, he could probably be excused a bit of shakiness, and the slightly giddy grin. "Surprised? So am I!"

Despite the mechanical overlay caused by the armor, Royal Pain's voice carried an almost indignant note. "You're flying? That's impossible!"

Except it wasn't, since Stronghold tackled Royal Pain, lifting her to the ceiling of the Gym and throwing her down hard enough to crack the floor and the cement underneath, following up with a punch that knocked her helmet off, and the villain seemingly unconscious.

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><p>After what felt like far too long scurrying through a maze of conduits, Magenta finally found what looked like the main generator for the fancy tech that kept Sky High hidden. If sidekicks were taught stuff that was actually useful in Shop class, she would be more certain. Instead, she squeaked as loudly as she could, hoping that the other sidekicks could hear her. "I found the generator… I think."<p>

Zach's voice echoed faintly back, "OK, you need to cut the wire connected to the scrambler."

Which wire was that? If she survived the night, Magenta was so sneaking into her older brother's room and finding his notes from Hero Shop class. "What?"

It was a good thing that her rodent form had excellent hearing. "The red one! Cut the red wire!"

Well, that certainly narrowed things down. Not. "There's a lot of red wires down here!"

She picked a random one and started to chew, just as a light started beeping on the generator, and the school seemed to drop. "Uh-oh."

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><p>Warren and the twins cursed themselves for forgetting that just because someone <em>looked <em>unconscious_, _didn't mean they weren't faking it. Gravity pushed them all flat to the floor as Layla screamed. "The school is falling!"

Melissa stopped screaming for a moment to snap at her. "We noticed!"

Stronghold managed to propel himself out a window, and Warren and Roisin exchanged worried looks. Double heritage third-generation Super or not, Stronghold was still only a teenager. Even if he could fly fast enough to catch the school, could he hold it? Could he carry it long enough to get the anti-gravity technology working again?

Warren pulled the older twin close, hoping that Stronghold could actually live up to his legend for once, and wishing that the timing didn't make it seem so much like a bad cliché.

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><p>The Pied Piper and the Cryptographer clutched their younger daughter, gripping Evanna's hands and hoping that their older daughter was safe. She was with Warren, but when you are falling from several thousand miles up, the capabilities of your companions don't mean much, and as far as any of them knew, none of the non-pacified Heroes could fly.<p>

Even so, the former villainess couldn't help smiling at the sight of Ethan and Zach clinging to each other and alternating between screams of "Hold me!" and "Chew!"

With a lot of luck, the laws of narrative comedy would kick in and the Shifter Sidekick would get the anti-gravity device working again.

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><p>Miracle of miracles, Magenta succeeded at the last possible second before flattening a civilian neighbourhood, and attention turned to unloading the pacified students and teachers.<p>

Penny was still tangled up in vines in the cafeteria, Gwen was unconscious for real and Mecha Girl had taken the precaution of messing up the wiring in her armor beyond hope of repair. Speed and Lash were in a trembling heap near the edge of the school, with a group of genetically modified rats guarding them.

Everyone tried not to think about the real problem. The Cryptographer could communicate and control any computer system in the world, but reversing the effects of the Pacifier was an entirely different field, and the resident genius was currently a toddler.

Layla placed a baby seat on the ground. "Now what?"

Will shrugged helplessly, placing the seat that he was pretty sure contained his mother down next to Layla's. "Beats me."

Warren tried not to feel too weirded out as he lifted Mr Medulla's seat down, the Mad Science teacher's head merely a much smaller version of his adult one, and his voice amusingly high pitched. "Perhaps I can be of assistance. It should only take me a couple of hours to re-configure the Pacifier. Mr Peace?"

That was his father's legal name, Warren's parents having flipped a coin to decide who changed their name upon marriage. He wondered what they would think if they could see him now. "Yeah?"

Mr Medulla somehow conveyed the impression that this was nothing out of the ordinary. "Would you please carry me to the Mad Science lab?"

Warren pitied whoever Mr Medulla's parents had been, to have dealt with him as a child. "Sure."

He wrinkled his nose suddenly, smelling something. His worst fears were confirmed when Mr Medulla looked sheepish. "And Mr Peace?"

Oh no. "Yeah?"

A guilty smile. "Regrettably, I have made boom-boom."

Roisin sighed as Stronghold and his friends immediately backed away, as if Mr Medulla was in possession of a rare and fatal disease, rather than a dirty diaper. "Oh, give him here. I'm struggling in Mad Science, and this should be enough to bring my average up to a B, at least."

Mr Medulla frowned, his voice still a helium-like high pitch. "What makes you think that?"

Roisin smiled beatifically. "Because otherwise you'll get diaper rash, and good luck explaining that to your date, if you really do follow up with the twins from the Paper Lantern."

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><p>It was nearing midnight, and several of the parents of current Sky High students had shown up (the problem with automatic alerts was that the person receiving it had to actually check their phone or email, and most parents were enjoying a night without the kids), only adding to the chaos, by the time Mr Medulla managed to successfully reverse the effects of the pacifier.<p>

Principal Powers was walking around with a megaphone, directing people through the halls, many of them wrapped in nothing but towels or blankets. "People, if you have already been de-Pacified please find your clothes, grab a baby and report to the Mad Science Lab!"

Those students who had saved the day were standing in a group with Ron Wilson, bus driver, as the adults stood off to the side, talking quietly. Will nervously edged toward his parents, who had been among the first to be returned back to normal and were safely dressed in their uniforms again. "Mom? Dad? Guys? I just wanted to say sorry because this whole thing is kind of my fault."

Jetstream placed a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, honey, you can't blame yourself."

The Commander rubbed a bit of baby drool off his uniform. "Of course not. How were you supposed to know your girlfriend was a total psychopath?"

Nearby, the twins, Evanna and Melissa sniggered. Will cringed, looking even guiltier. "No, that's not it. You gave me one rule, and I broke it. I took her into the Sanctum, and that's how she got the Pacifier. The whole party was a trap."

The Commander shrugged. "And so was Homecoming, Will. We all fell into Royal Pain's trap. But you defeated her. You saved Sky High, and everyone in Her."

Will just looked relieved that he wasn't being grounded for the rest of his life. "I didn't do it by myself."

Mr Boy appeared, thankfully dressed and holding a trophy. "Excuse me, Steve, Josie? Even though it appears that Gwen only came up with this Award as a way to lure you to the dance and your ultimate doom, still it's inscribed, so…"

The Commander accepted the trophy, causing the more jaded Heroes of the hour to roll their eyes in exasperation. "I'd be honoured to accept this Hero of the Year award. But I'm afraid, this doesn't belong to us. "

Stronghold's friends and Warren's group looked up as the two Heroes approached, Jetstream smiling, "It belongs to them. The Sidekicks. I mean, Hero Support."

The Commander smiled also, though his looked a bit more practiced. "Why don't we just call them what they really are, Josie. Heroes."

He held out the trophy dramatically, and Stronghold's Sidekicks reached out to grip it as well, grinning like they had been handed the world on a platter. Will and Layla exchanged grins. Melissa moved closer to Evanna and Alara, away from the other sidekicks. Warren draped an arm over Roisin's shoulders. Almost around the corner, the Pied Piper rolled her eyes.

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><p>After a quick, quieter conversation with Mr Boy, the Commander and Jetstream approached the adults, looking and feeling slightly awkward. All of them sided with Firestar, either openly or quietly, and in hindsight, the two Superheroes could have behaved better toward them. "Er, look…"<p>

The Pied Piper didn't even let them get past the first syllables, stalking away toward her daughters. The Cryptographer gestured after her, "Since she's currently working a case against you, talking to you personally might be called as a conflict of interest, and I doubt that my wife is in any mood for your patronising remarks."

The Commander frowned. "What do you mean: patronizing? Those kids are heroes, no matter what their powers are. Even I admit it!"

The Peacekeeper gave him a bored look. "Yes, but as soon as they get back to school tomorrow, they're back to being separated from the heroes who ran around like headless chickens, and back to classes that don't teach them how to be anything more than an accessory. No amount of empty words or reluctant admissions will change that."

The Commander frowned, hating to admit that the Empath had a point. The Hero/Sidekick divide would not be fixed overnight, even though the students had thoroughly proved that it didn't matter which track you were classified into.

Penny, Lash, Speed and Gwen, all in the Hero track, had displayed several very far-from-Heroic qualities, while the sidekicks had proven themselves braver and more capable than most of the Hero students.

Still, Steve had been sincere in what he said to his son's friends. The Superhero Council would want a report as soon as possible, and Steve intended to be the one giving it, so he could recommend some changes to Sky High.

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><p><em>AN: I'm just going to say it, and hope that it doesn't come off as begging for reviews: Action scenes are really hard for me to write, and it is really frustrating when I work so hard on a chapter for a story that I know has more than 50 follows and favourites, and wind up with only a single review._

_It is both frustrating and discouraging, and makes me wonder if a story is worth continuing, as there seems to be little to no interest in reading it._

_Still, we've reached the end of the movie, and it's time to move on to original ideas. Hopefully my creativity is up to the task._

_Again, I'm sorry for the wait between chapters, but with writing, organising and directing a Children's Play, research and documentation for two competitions and a class on medieval hairstyles, writing has taken a back-seat. I'm off to New Zealand for a week, and work starts two days after I get home (yay for the Australia Day public holiday), so I'm not sure when the next chapter will be, but you can check out the various other stories while you wait__**. 'A Friend In Need'**__ and __**'Striking Back'**__ have been updated, as has the Battle of Five Armies chapter of __**'Not What You Expected'**__._

_Thanks,_

_Nat_


	13. Chapter 12

_Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High, or any of the associated characters. Original characters are my own invention._

_Summary: See Previous chapters._

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><p><strong><span>Chapter Thirteen<span>**

The Commander was slightly embarrassed when he finally realised just how far beneath Heroes that Sidekicks were considered to be, at least by the current administration.

He had put off going into the Superhero Council headquarters for two days after Homecoming, giving the Pied Piper and the Peacebringer time to collect statements from everyone for Royal Pain's trial. He and Jetstream had even promised to accompany Warren to the Maxville Maximum Security prison to speak with a few of the Villains from Royal Pain's time at Sky High. Apparently, Royal Pain had been the only one to realise that messing with the Pied Piper's loved ones only ever ended badly, and the Villains, some of whom had been represented by Patricia in court, were more likely to tell what they knew of Gwen's plans to the son of a Villain, a strange form of honour amongst evil, in exchange for their co-operation being noted on record for a shorter sentence.

Josie told her husband later, privately, that she was a little worried what the Pied Piper might accomplish with such co-operation-in-exchange-for-leniency notes, but it couldn't be helped.

Steve was also worried when he realised that Sidekicks might not be so dangerous individually, but they were much better at working in groups than Heroes, and even more skilled at complementing each other's powers and using a stronger Super's powers against them.

For example, the Peacekeeper had used his Empathy to make sure that everyone felt like being entirely truthful, especially those who were closest to Gwen and would be tempted to try and make themselves look better by lying. The girl who turned into a ball had used a bully's tendency to kick her down a hall to get somewhere much faster than she could under her own power, and, from the training session he had observed, was very good at changing form at exactly the right moment to knock someone off-balance as they fought another Sidekick.

As much as Warren and the Pied Piper's children had proved themselves during Homecoming, the Commander still worried about what would happen if continued refusing to treat them as the heroes they were, or even as normal children.

The Superhero Council, however, did not seem to share that opinion. Heroes were Heroes and Sidekicks were Sidekicks, and even the famous Commander couldn't change the traditional roles that stretched back to the dawn of time. Sky High as a school had a certain amount of autonomy, as far as class structure and courses went, so perhaps he would have to start there.

Like he had told Will on the first day of school, he wouldn't be around forever, and the Superhero council was mostly made up of long-retired Heroes. Perhaps by the time Will and his friends Graduated, there would be fresh minds with fresh perspectives.

But that was something that he could worry about later. For now, he had to visit the Maximum Security prison that housed his Arch-Enemy.

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><p>Baron Battle wasn't sure whether to be pleased or infuriated at what he heard through the Prison Grapevine, as four teenagers, too young to have graduated, become disillusioned and switched sides, were brought into the Juvenile Wing. Allergen, a villainess who had been exposed to toxic chemicals during experiments in bio-research, had taken pity on the two girls, one of whom had been the school gossip, and the other the Ringleader of the plot that landed them in a cell, who couldn't stop ranting about how her plan should have worked.<p>

Allergen had promptly told her cell-mate, and then branched out to the rest of the prison population during lunch and recreation time. By the time they received word of an impending visit from the Commander, Jetstream and the Pied Piper, everyone knew what had happened at Sky High Homecoming, and Baron Battle was feeling conflicted.

On the one hand, he was very pleased that the Super community seemed to finally be realising that Warren was not a clone, after all the years they had spend making his life hell by refusing to let him escape his fathers shadow.

On the other hand, the fire-user was furious that it had taken such drastic measures for people to realise that! What were they doing at Sky High, that a Super Villain almost as dangerous as Barron himself had managed to recruit minions and stage a hostile takeover of the one place that was supposed to be safe?

And Warren had been the only pseudo-adult (as an emancipated teen, he legally counted as a adult, but was still only sixteen) to keep his head and lead a running battle against the Villains, while the teachers, Superheroes and Hero students ran around like headless chickens. He knew that his reputation would most likely be shot to pieces, but he jumped up and pulled his son into a tight hug as soon as he walked into the room, totally ignoring the two Superheroes behind him and the girl holding his son's hand.

For nearly a full minute, Warren hugged him back tightly, the only vulnerability that Barron knew his son would show in front of witnesses. Finally, the Supervillain pulled back and gestured for all of them to take a seat. It probably didn't do him any good to deliberately antagonise the Commander, who hated the way Barron managed to present the illusion that he was in control of the situation, but with four Life Sentences, Barron would take his pleasures and victories where he could get them. "I take it Homecoming didn't go quite as well as you had planned?"

The Commander and Jetstream started, probably jumping to the conclusion that he had been in on it. Warren looked slightly pained, most likely anticipating a bout of parental protectiveness. The girl, from her looks almost certainly one of the Pied Piper's girls, though only three when last he saw them, laughed. "Well, before and after the attack was interesting, the music wasn't horrible and the dancing was fun. How did you find out?"

Baron Battle smirked. "Royal Pain and her associates are in the Juvenile Ward right now, and haven's stopped arguing with each other since they arrived. It wasn't hard to pick up the basics, but talk to allergen if you want the gritty details."

Jetstream looked slightly embarrassed, while the Pied Piper looked amused. The Commander tried to pretend that he hadn't reacted, and the teenagers grinned. "Enforced, constant exposure to Penny for a long time. How nice for them to be on the receiving end, for once."

Barron laughed and settled back to enjoy the visit.

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><p>The parents who had only found out about Royal Pain's attack when their children returned home were understandably reluctant to let their children out of the house over the weekend or the three days that Sky High was closed for repairs. Finally, however, the students involved in foiling Royal Pain's plot managed to either persuade their guardians or quietly sneak out long enough to meet up in the city park.<p>

Will and Layla arrived first, fresh from their first official date, closely followed by Warren and Roisin. Zach and Magenta were next, arriving less than a minute before Alara, Melissa and Evanna. Ethan was last, having been caught twice on his way out.

There was a small cluster of trees in the centre of the park, surrounding a small rock formation, most commonly used by couples wanting some time out of the private eye. Layla encouraged the trees and undergrowth to expand, blocking them from view. Roisin raised a shadow barrier around the interior, preventing sound from escaping, and Zach provided some dim illumination.

Somehow, the restriction about only using your powers in the School Gym seemed far less important, after the events of Homecoming.

For a long time, no-one knew where to start. Finally, Alara sighed. "OK, I know this is awkward, but there are some things that we do need to discuss, and our parents want us home before dark."

Layla looked relieved that someone else had broken the ice. "We could go in a circle. Everyone picks one question the want to ask, and we take turns."

Warren nodded. "As long as I don't have to go first, sure."

Vague murmurs of agreement came from everyone else, and Layla gestured to Will. "You can go first, Will."

Will looked as though he wouldn't have minded forgoing that privilege, but gave in. "OK, this is going to sound bad, so I'm sorry in advance. Of all the people in Sky High, why did you guys pick Warren to hang out with? There are plenty of others who would have welcomed you."

The pyro in question shrugged the implied insult off. "I'm not offended, and was kind of wondering the same thing. I already had a group of friends, and I wasn't exactly welcoming to any of you. If Layla hadn't phrased her Homecoming Invitation as a way to annoy Stronghold, I would have turned her down flat."

Layla squirmed a bit. "Well, in my case, it was the first name that popped into my head, and the only person that I knew for sure would get a reaction out of you."

Zach gestured to himself and Ethan. "You promised that you wouldn't let being in the Hero Class stop you from being friends with us, but then you dropped us to spend all of your time with the Hero kids. That hurt, man, ditching us for your popular new friends."

Will had guessed some of that, but hearing it from the mouths of friends he had known since first grade made it even worse. "I'm not trying to make an excuse, but I didn't mean to brush you off. It was just, these were the kids I was going to be surrounded by for the rest of High School, and I wasn't sure how to stand up to them when they insisted that I had to be careful who I was seen with if I wanted to be friends with them."

Evanna scoffed, but there was a small trace of empathy in her eyes. "True friends don't make you pick a side, or place conditions on friendship. You need to work on standing up for yourself and for the people you care about."

Ethan steered the conversation away, leaning forward eagerly as he addressed his question to Alara and Roisin. "What is it like, having a Supervillain and a Hero for parents?"

Roisin gave him a half-smile, amused that he had actually said it. "Not that much different than normal parents, I imagine, though Mom has a greater tolerance for using dirty tricks to win a fight. Dad leaves Hero work at the door and in the Secret Sanctum, just like Mom leaves her work in the study."

Alara agreed, edging closer to her twin. "Besides, 'Supervillain' is a bit harsh, given that all she did was ditch the misogynistic moron she had been assigned to, and hold a few people hostage for a few thousand dollars to pay for Law School."

Melissa agreed. "Mom says that Villains can be a lot more practical than Heroes, sometimes, too. Or at least, they plan for possibilities more than Heroes do. Dad says that no-one was surprised that she dropped Silverblade, just that it took her as long as it did."

Magenta smirked. "My dad mentioned the same thing. He was Silverblade's first sidekick, two before the Pied Piper, and he sometimes says that he wishes he had thought of making such a dramatic exit."

Zach and Layla both stared at the shapeshifter, apparently shocked at the idea that Heroes and Villains could have anything in common. Silverblade, along with his ability to generate blades of silver-coloured energy, had the unique gift of infuriating everyone he encountered, and an impressively high Sidekick turnover rate.

Zach recovered first. "What about you, Warren? What was your dad like?"

Warren frowned, before being distracted by a soft 'ping'. Similar noises came from the twins. He pulled a phone out of his pocket. "I don't know how much I'm allowed to say about that. Mrs Wu wants me to check in at the Paper Lantern. She's been a bit fussy ever since she found out about Homecoming."

The twins stood up. "Mum wants us home, too, or a message from Mrs Wu if we choose to go to the Paper Lantern with Warren. We can either continue there, or meet up again tomorrow."

Will shrugged. "I still owe Layla a date, and my parents won't mind, as long as I let them know where we are. Guys?"

Ethan nodded. "If I manage to sneak back home and ask permission, it should be fine. I hope."

Evanna smiled at him. "I'll go with you. My parents got called away on a mission earlier, and won't be back until tomorrow."

Layla stood up, shrinking the trees to the point where they could all get back through into the main park. "We'll see you there, then."

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><p><em>AN: Sorry it took longer than expected to get this up. I had the chapter mostly written, then my computer crashed and lost the file, and I had to start from scratch._

_Next chapter will contain a bit more backstory (but not too much) and what has or has not changed at Sky High._

_As always, I would love to know what you think, because the only way for a writer to improve is to let them know what they are doing wrong._

_Thanks,_

_Nat_


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